Proximity talks between Israelis and Palestinians - indirect negotiations mediated by the US - might have been set up after month of tiring toing and froing held  by the Special Envoy Mitchell who came and went umpteen times: they could not have taken off in a worse setting.
The Israeli Home secretary Eli Yashai did not even wait for Vice President Joe Biden to leave before announcing permission had been granted for the construction of another 1600 apartments in the Ramat Shlomo neighbourhood in East Jerusalem, the Arab section of the city that Israel considers eternal and indivisible capital. Vice-president Biden reacted immediately considering the decision as a provocation against his person and his visit and he stated the decision undermined the trust needed to re-launch negotiations.

Regardless of whether it is a trap by the religious party Shas which Yishai belongs to or a deliberate move, the fact of the matter doesn’t change: negotiations can’t be considered Nertanyau’s top priority. The PM is known to zig zag like this in that openings on a diplomatic level are matched by actions aimed at consolidating his coalition or his electoral constituency. At times these actions are aimed at triggering a Palestinian reaction to undermine diplomatic openings the aim of which is to appease the American ally.

This is what happened at Bar Ilan last June where while accepting the ‘Two peoples two states’ platform Netanyahu  asked the Palestinians and the Arab world to recognise Israel as the Jewish nation-state. As he announced a 10 month block on building in settlements three thousand building permits were granted for apartments being built or that had been granted permission. As indirect negotiations were publicized, the announcement that two sites in Nablus and Bethlehem were included in the list of sites belonging to the Israeli cultural heritage came, thus triggering a strong reaction throughout the Arab world and the strong US condemnation. And now this.

To be fair there had also been actions in a more positive direction, such as the removal of road blocks in the West bank allowing more freedom of movement and which is one of the reasons for the economic growth registered in the area in 2009. However the negative  tendency has prevailed and has been a key factor in the lack of trust surrounding this uphill indirect negotiation.

The main factor to be added to the above mentioned events and attitudes is the awareness that when the already fragile negotiations resume but will have to face the unresolved issues of the Final Status: Jerusalem, borders, settlements, water and refugees. The current Israeli coalition does not seem able to go any distance along that road as things stand. Furthermore, in November there will be the US mid-term elections and Obama is unlikely to wish to accelerate now after all these months in which he has been basically hovering over the issue.

In his past diplomatic experience with the US, Netanyahu has built up a deep knowledge of the US political environment and knows how to manoeuvre, as could be appreciated in  he early months of the Obama Presidency. In the short term he gained tactical victories postponing the time for basic choices, but now this has caught up with him and is costing Israel increasing isolation in the world, in Europe and in the US, casting shadows on its image and its credibility. This is a high price as the Iran issue is surfacing.

One last comment: true,  the most likely scenario is the situation dragging on without getting anywhere, then the question arises: what can be done in the coming months to fill up this unrecognised but de facto vacuum. The most practical approach would seem to support  the Palestinian PM Fayyad’s plan, do so in practice and forcefully: support for the bottom-up establishment of a Palestinian State starting with the success in rebuilding institutions, security, economy and welfare services for lower income citizens. President Shimon Peres recently referred to Fayyad as the Palestinian Ben Gurion. A name that bears weight especially when spoken  by an Israeli. Fayyad must not be left alone to rise to this challenge, especially by Europe because, as we all know, only the worst thrives in a vacuum.