Mideast peace talks chess game amid political stalemate
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What happens after the mid terms will depend on realities in Washington -- if Democrats take heavy losses, Obama will be in a weaker position to press Israel, Hadar said.
The Obama administration has consistently voiced its disapproval of Israel's building of new housing units in the West Bank, calling it one of the major obstacles to peace.
But whether or not Obama's position weakens after the elections, neither side is likely to just walk away from the bargaining table, Hadar said.
For its part, the Obama administration continues to urge both parties to hammer out a unilateral deal.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to deliver remarks to the American Task Force on Palestine Fifth Annual Gala on Wednesday evening in Washington and reaffirm the U.S. commitment to a two-state solution and a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, according to the U.S. State Department.
Could talks still derail?
Nevertheless, there is no guarantee that the talks will stay on track, and some experts can produce a laundry list of reasons why they think negotiations could collapse.
Khaled Elgindy, former advisor to the Palestinian leadership and visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, said he does not see Netanyahu's offer to recognize Israel as constructive, as the Israeli leader failed to outline exact boundaries.
He added that there are few reasons for optimism at this point - after all, talks have stalled less than two months after they started, he said.
Moreover, they fell apart because the Obama administration lacks a strategy to deal with the settlement freeze -- an issue looming on the horizon since the launch of the talks, he said.
"Even if (the Obama administration) is able to get us over the one month or two month hump, you just kicked the can down the road another two months and then where are you? What have you accomplished?"
"So are we just going to go month to month, crisis to crisis in a type of dynamic that is extraordinarily draining for all the parties?" he said.
The Obama administration needs to use this time out to come up with a plausible strategy to deal with issues that it foresees arising in the course of the negotiations, he said.
"It's like a chess game, they ought to be able to anticipate a couple of moves ahead, but they don't seem to be doing that," he said of the Obama administration.
