The faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace process, frozen by his many detractors after the conclusion of the Annapolis summit, returned to the fore this week thanks to conflicting signals and dissonant statements. Apparently, the protagonists of the inexhaustible serial serials coincided in the need to increase the dose of widespread confusion, by introducing new elements in the old script of the inter-communal struggle. The first surprise came from the efforts carried out by former President Jimmy Carter, who was able to boot to the leadership of the Palestinian movement for Islamic resistance (Hamas) a commitment on the formal recognition of the State of Israel in exchange for the withdrawal of Jewish soldiers in the territories occupied or administered by the PNA. Despite the ambiguity of the terms used by Hamas, drew attention the fact that the Islamic movement consider the possibility of relinquishing one of the key points of his political agenda: the non-existence of the Jewish State and the right of the Zionists of occupying part of the territory of historic Palestine. The efforts of Carter, carried out without the consent of the White House and American diplomacy, made manifest the inability or unwillingness of the Republican administration engage thoroughly in a negotiation that could clear the way towards the solution of the conflict. Even more; the former President's consultations provoked the anger of the israeli Government, which denies its North American partners the right dialogue with emissaries of terrorist groups.

However, Carter ignored this prohibition, leaving evidence of the apparent willingness of Hamas to negotiate with Tel Aviv. Israel decided to respond to the offer of Islamic radicals with an unconvincing maneuver: the announcement of the possible, although unlikely return of the Golan Heights to Syria in exchange for a peace agreement. The news provided by the Minister of immigration of the Government of Damascus, to the Al Jazeera Arab television chain originated, to the seem, in a telephone conversation held by the israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, with his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish. Curiously, the Ankara authorities denied the existence of the message. Scientists remind us that talks between Israelis and Syrians were interrupted in 2000, following the publication in the Hebrew press of confidential documents related to the demands of both sides.

Analysts estimate that the Cabinet of then Prime Minister Ehud Barak labour, had no interest in continuing to negotiate with Damascus. Indeed, the differences about the return of the territory other doubts, were added as for example the ratio of Syria with the Lebanese Islamic movement Hezbollah. Tel Aviv accused Damascus of being the main supplier of arms to the pro-Iranian guerrillas. The last discordant message comes from the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmud Abbas, who take the contacts held during his official visit to the United States to claim more support American for the peace process. Abbas failed to convince their hosts, who are content to wait for a forceful response from the ANP to the occupation of Gaza by Hamas militias. Forget the transatlantic political Islamic movement won a victory in the general elections held in 2005. Just six months before the election of the United States, the Bush team starts to heat engines, relying on finding shortly a lasting solution to the inter-ethnic conflict. One can only hope that no case of another workaround, similar to the disaster of Iraq or Afghanistan. Or perhaps worse. Adrian Mac Liman policy analyst international original author and source of the article.