A discussion with
Amb. Michael Oren
Ambassador-in-Residence
Atlantic Council
Amb. Michael Oren
Ambassador-in-Residence
Atlantic Council
Moderated by
Frederick Kempe
President & CEO
Atlantic Council
The most recent round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) does not appear to bode well for the peace process. What began with closed-door meetings last summer, Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners, and the PA's tabling of UN recognition legislation offered a promising start to negotiations. Despite early successes and a strong US commitment, the peace talks collapsed in late April 2014. Ultimately, threats by certain Israeli politicians to impede negotiations, and a burgeoning Fatah-Hamas unity deal disrupted progress.
Will there ever be peace in the Middle East? Should there be a shift in approach? What holds Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PA President Mahmoud Abbas back?
Ambassador Michael Oren (Ret.), ambassador-in-residence at the Atlantic Council, will seek to identify the challenges that prevented a successful outcome and suggest how the region may move forward in the fragile, yet strategically crucial relationship between Israel and the Palestinians.