Contextualizing the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) asserts that the major U.S. security challenge in the Middle East does not emanate from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but by the policies of Iran. Iran's ambition to dominate the region, threats to wipe Israel off the map, and its quest to produce nuclear weapons with all that that implies, including the transfer of nuclear materials and weapons of mass destruction to client movements such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and rogue states, constitute a threat to global stability and peace.

The view that has gained traction in some circles is that many of the troubles in the Middle East are caused by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hence some have suggested that its resolution must be quickly obtained even if a settlement were to be imposed. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict over eastern Jerusalem, borders, refugees, and settlements needs to be diplomatically settled. It could have been resolved long ago if much of Arab Islam, Iran, and the Palestinians had followed the example of Egypt and Jordan. By recognizing Israel's legitimate right to exist, the core issue in the conflict, the two countries defied the neighborhood and signed peace treaties with Israel. In the absence of the acceptance of the right of America's ally, liberal democratic Israel, to exist, the world should not anticipate a speedy resolution of the issue that, in the overall context of the endemic morass that afflicts the Middle East, is a distraction.