
recognized Palestine as a “non-member observer state.” And even if they get substantive, the details are daunting. For instance, how many West Bank settlers would the Israelis being willing to move out (assuming they'd agree to move any)? How many Palestinian refugees would be allowed to move in? What kind of land swaps? Whose security forces would police the peace? And, politically, how far can Netanyahu extend his hand without risking a domestic backlash? And how far can Abbas extend his, given the fact that his more militant domestic opponents, such as Hamas, distrust him simply because he's talking to the occupiers? But perhaps it's Kerry, and the nation he represents, that has the most to lose. As the guy who goaded the adversaries to talk, he has raised the stakes. In April he told a congressional committee: “I believe the window for a two-state solution is shutting… a year, a year and a half, or two years, or it's over.” If that window snaps shut, he'd own the failure. He'd be wise to prepare for the worst while he hopes for the best.
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