Emerging Powers and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Case of Brazil and Venezuela | Ifi Working Paper

Working Paper | May 2013
Emerging Powers and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Case of Brazil and Venezuela by Guy Burton
What are the prospects of new rising powers to play a role in the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? At present the possibility of direct talks leading to a final settlement of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians looks far from promising. Negotiations between the two sides have been at a standstill since September 2010, when the two sides briefly met under US sponsorship. Expectations had been high that the US would once again take a leading role as a mediator between the two sides, a self-appointed role that it has taken on at regular intervals since Israel and the Palestinians initially committed themselves to working out their differences following the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. Following his election in late 2008, there was hope that the new US president, Barack Obama, might be able to broker talks between the two. Much of this expectation was based on a mistaken belief that Obama would be cooler towards Israel than his predecessor had been and that he was determined to invest sufficient capital to find an agreement amenable to both sides.