NY Times: Despite Mrs. Clinton’s efforts to soften the impact of her comments from Jerusalem, that new shift has damaged the administration’s credibility and authority in the region. The lesson learned by Arabs and Israelis alike is that President Obama does not possess the political will to push forward his vision of a two-state solution. His capitulation on settlements sends the wrong message to both camps and emboldens them to resist making the necessary concessions for a breakthrough.
Having won the first round on settlements, Mr. Netanyahu will no longer take President Obama’s vision of peace seriously. His allies have already hailed President Obama’s retreat as a diplomatic victory.
Danny Ayalon, the deputy foreign minister, said that Israel’s policy of resisting U.S. pressure had paid off, while his cabinet colleague Daniel Hershkowitz declared: “The U.S. administration understands what we have always said — that the real obstacle to negotiations are the Palestinians.”
In the first six months of his administration, President Obama raised the expectations among Muslims of a real change in American policy and buoyed Palestinian hopes that he would deliver them their long-expected independent state.
Those hopes are rapidly fading, replaced by disillusionment and cynicism. More and more voices say that President Obama is no different from his predecessors, and that all he offers is empty rhetoric. The chorus of Palestinian and Arab protests and disappointment must be set against promises made and high expectations set by the new president in the first six month in office.
Mrs. Clinton’s comments from Jerusalem hit a raw nerve and shattered widely held perceptions among the pro-Western Palestinian and Arab ruling elite, particularly Mr. Abbas, that unlike his predecessor, President Obama is genuine about helping the Palestinians establish a state of their own.
In contrast to the furor in pro-Western Arab capitals, the radical camp – Iran, Syria and their local allies (Hamas and Hezbollah) – maintained sweet silence. “The Arab and Muslim people know that the U.S. position is biased,” said Mohammad Nazzal, a top member of Hamas’ exiled leadership in Syria.
