NOTE: Along with some other things I love to research, the political process has always been of interest to me. Here is an example of things I will be adding to the blog. Secretary of State John Kerry announced a small but what is regarded as an important step in the communication between Israel and Palestinian officials. He made this announcement of Friday, July 19th 2013. Israel and Palestinian officials have agreed at least in principle....to moving forward in negotiations.
The phrase that came from Kerry's press release read: "...reaching an agreement that establishes the basis for resuming direct final status negotiations". Huh???
It is of my understanding that Israel and the leaders of the Palestinians have agreed in principle...BUT nothing has been formalized. This simply means they have agreed to begin negotiating with one another ABOUT the possibility of....negotiating with one another.
Absurd? Well, in some circles it would seem so, but this is part of what has been coined as the "political process". What this actually brings to light is that even before Israel and the Palestinians could even discuss the possibility of finding peace with one another, the first thing that has to happen is to figure out ways whether there is enough common ground to even begin the negotiation process.
So, this announcement given by Secretary of State Kerry does not ensure any promise of the beginning of peaceful negotiations, rather, it sets up the possibility to have these two meet.
And here lies the beginning of numerous and somewhat complex problems between Israel and Palestine. A blog entitled "The Camel's Nose" defines this as more of a "conflict resolution game theory". What this means is while it is now apparent both Israel and Palestine have agreed to stronger incentives to support negotiations, there is much less incentive to accept any resolutions...which could require painful concessions. Often times these beginning negotiations bring forth a "stonewall effect", a pulling back from either or, and the entire process is back to square one.
Yet, things have got to start somewhere. Having direct and high-level negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians...even if it be as simple as deciding what a lunch menu might be...can actually serve as early building blocks to establishing some sort of trust and a mutual understanding...that even though appears dim at best...could contribute to a breakthrough.
It is of my understanding that Israel and the leaders of the Palestinians have agreed in principle...BUT nothing has been formalized. This simply means they have agreed to begin negotiating with one another ABOUT the possibility of....negotiating with one another.
Absurd? Well, in some circles it would seem so, but this is part of what has been coined as the "political process". What this actually brings to light is that even before Israel and the Palestinians could even discuss the possibility of finding peace with one another, the first thing that has to happen is to figure out ways whether there is enough common ground to even begin the negotiation process.
So, this announcement given by Secretary of State Kerry does not ensure any promise of the beginning of peaceful negotiations, rather, it sets up the possibility to have these two meet.
And here lies the beginning of numerous and somewhat complex problems between Israel and Palestine. A blog entitled "The Camel's Nose" defines this as more of a "conflict resolution game theory". What this means is while it is now apparent both Israel and Palestine have agreed to stronger incentives to support negotiations, there is much less incentive to accept any resolutions...which could require painful concessions. Often times these beginning negotiations bring forth a "stonewall effect", a pulling back from either or, and the entire process is back to square one.
Yet, things have got to start somewhere. Having direct and high-level negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians...even if it be as simple as deciding what a lunch menu might be...can actually serve as early building blocks to establishing some sort of trust and a mutual understanding...that even though appears dim at best...could contribute to a breakthrough.
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