Why America's Undying Devotion to Israel Guarantees New Peace Talks Will Fail

US Secretary of State John Kerry watches as Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat (L) shake hands during a presser on the Middle East Peace Process on July 30, 2013 in Washington, DC.
Photo Credit: AFP

The following transcript is from Democracy Now!'s July 30 broadcast.

AARON MATÉ: Israel and the Palestinian Authority have resumed peace talks for the first time in three years. The two sides’ top negotiators sat down Monday in a dinner hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington. Ahead of the meeting, Kerry urged both parties to make what he called "reasonable compromises."

SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY: Going forward, it’s no secret that this is a difficult process. If it were easy, it would have happened a long time ago. It’s no secret, therefore, that many difficult choices lie ahead for the negotiators and for the leaders, as we seek reasonable compromises on tough, complicated, emotional and symbolic issues. I think reasonable compromises has to be a keystone of all of this effort. I know the negotiations are going to be tough, but I also know that the consequences of not trying could be worse.

AMY GOODMAN: The last talks broke down in September 2010 after Palestinians insisted Israel stop expanding West Bank settlements. Israel has ignored the demand since, building thousands of homes in the major West Bank settlement blocs it wants to carve out of any future Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority held their position until this past week, when Kerry won an Israeli pledge to release over a hundred Palestinian prisoners, some held for decades. The State Department says the two sides have agreed to negotiate for at least nine months. The talks will be overseen by Martin Indyk, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel, who was named Monday as the new special envoy for Middle East peace. As she headed into Monday’s opening session, Israeli negotiator Tzipi Livni said the U.S. will take the lead in steering the talks.

TZIPI LIVNI: To be optimistic is something that we cannot afford. But there is some hope. And I hope that when in Israel they would see the first meeting, they would understand that we shouldn’t give up hope, and it is reachable, and we need to do it, for—because it is a mutual interest. The understanding with the United States is that in order to succeed, we would not show the public what’s going to happen in the negotiations room, and Secretary Kerry is the only one that can speak on behalf of all of us. So I’m not going to enter this discussion publicly. We are going to discuss it in the negotiations room.

AARON MATÉ: Well, despite Tzipi Livni’s assertion that details of the talks will be kept private, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas laid out the Palestinian position on Monday during a visit to Cairo. Speaking to journalists, Abbas said the Palestinian demand for an Israeli withdrawal to 1967 is non-negotiable. Abbas’s comments reinforce the doubts surrounding the new talks, with the two sides as far apart as ever on the key issues of borders, settlers, refugees and the status of Jerusalem.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, for more, we’re joined by two guests. Yousef Munayyer is the executive director of The Jerusalem Fund, its educational program, The Palestine Center, based in Washington, D.C. Here in New York, we’re joined by Norman Finkelstein, a scholar and author of many books, including Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of Historyand Knowing Too Much: Why the American Jewish Romance with Israel Is Coming to an End.

Let’s go to Washington first. I want to ask just about the issue of these talks happening right now, Yousef Munayyer, what is wanted by the Palestinians and the Israelis, how it’s being run in Washington. Can you respond?

YOUSEF MUNAYYER: Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think, first, to put this in context, we have to remember that, you know, Israel has no greater ally in the world than the United States. It relies heavily on the United States both economically, diplomatically and militarily for support. So the United States has a good bit of leverage over Israel. It also has a good bit of leverage over the Palestinian Authority. It provides a significant amount of money for its annual budget. And so, you know, it’s not miraculous that the United States is able to bring two, essentially, clients to the table to do something.