Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Unwise risk


Will Fear of Iran Help Peace Process? -Gideon Rachman

A new theory making the rounds argues that the rise of Iran is scary enough to give all sides in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute a new interest in finding a settlement. But fear of Iran still seems unlikely to be powerful enough to compel the Saudis to recognize Israel.

Furthermore, the Israeli military - backed by public opinion - is unwilling to take the risk of handing control of security on the West Bank back to the Palestinians. Rocket attacks have been launched against Israel from Lebanon and from Gaza. Similar attacks from the West Bank could hit Israel's big cities.

In addition, memories of the suicide bombings that killed 1,000 Israelis have hugely undermined public willingness to take risks with security.
(Financial Times-UK)

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