Middle East Peace Process Going Nowhere

Palestinian laborers work on a construction site in a Jewish settlement near Jerusalem known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim on Dec. 14. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed on Monday a US decision to drop efforts to achieve a building freeze in Jewish settlements and focus on resolving core issues of the Middle East conflict. Ammar Awad/Reuters

With Mideast Peace Talks Adrift, The US Searches For Plan B -- Christian Science Monitor

With the Obama administration's big idea to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks – a settlement freeze – abandoned, the region is skeptical about American leadership.

Soon after the US announced last week it would abandon an 18-month demand for an Israeli settlement freeze to advance peace talks with the Palestinians, state department spokesperson PJ Crowley insisted that the US would not start over with a blank slate.

Read more ....

More News On The Israeli -- Palestinian Peace Process

Israel PM convenes inner forum as talks hit impasse -- AFP

Arabs want 'serious offer' on Israel peace, UN resolution -- AFP
No Israel talks 'in any format,' Palestinians insist -- AFP
Arabs rule out new peace talks -- Al Jazeera
Arabs reject Middle East peace talks without US plan -- BBC
Arab League Still Supports U.S. Role in Mideast Talks: U.S. -- Bloomberg

Palestinians ask Europe to recognize a state -- AP
Europe asked to ask to recognise Palestinian state -- Daily Times
Palestinians seek recognition of state from European countries -- CNN
PLO 'disappointed' over U.S. resolution opposing unilateral declaration of Palestinian state -- Haaretz

Gaza Mends, but Israelis See Signs of Trouble -- New York Times
U.S. can't make leaders want peace -- Aaron David Miller, Politico
Netanyahu not to blame for failed peace talks -- Baltimore Sun
US House passes anti-Palestine bill -- MJ Rosenberg, Al Jazeera
The Return of "Plan B" and the Death of the Peace Process -- Osamah Khalil, Huffington Post
Q&A - After Mitchell trip, what next for peace process? -- Reuters

My Comment: The Middle East peace process is not adrift .... it is dead. With no leadership coming from the White House, and all the principle players locked in "non-negotiable conditions" .... this process is going nowhere.