Interesting interview with ex Mossad chief who was front and center in failed Camp David II negotiations. Said they by and large had a deal with Arafat but he wouldn't relent on control of the Temple Mount and Jewish right to prayer. Several interesting things about that - Barack was willing to go further in appeasing Palestinians on the Temple Mount than I think any Prime Minster, left or right, would be willing to do today - which means if what happens with the Temple Mount is the sticking point re peace negotiations then there is never going to be an agreement that Israel can accept - depending of course on what Arafat’s true objections were re the Temple Mount. Did Arafat use control of the Temple Mount as a pretext to scuttle an agreement he never had any intention of agreeing to? Were his objections a reflection of Palestinians seeing control of the Temple Mount as a source of great power for them within the Muslim world? Or was it all about doctrinaire religious intolerance? Politicised religions are obsessed with purity - Islam is a highly politicised religion, which is what makes it such a problematic religion - thus the thought of Jews or ‘the people of the book’ in general having not only access to the Temple Mount but religious rights therein is utter anathema for Muslims. If Palestinian intransigence is about the first two considerations, then it’s possible if you put enough pressure on them you can get a deal - unlikely I think but possible - but if it’s all about the last point? There will never be a peace deal that israel can accept. Never - and Israel should just unilaterally move on.
