Efforts to save the newly revived peace process between Israelis and Palestinians have moved into a feverish phase with only days left before an Arab League summit that could declare the process dead.
The negotiations, sponsored by the Obama administration, are on life support just weeks after their birth. Palestinian negotiators refused to continue talks with Israel unless the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to extend a moratorium on Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank, which expired on Sept. 26. Netanyahu's right-wing coalition strongly disliked the original 10-month freeze, and it would likely oppose another extension -- unless the conditions for one make it impossible for them to walk out of the government. Netanyahu was warned that his government could fall if he renews the freeze.
That's where a creative new plan comes in, introducing a totally unrelated, but emotionally charged element into the negotiations: the case of Jonathan Pollard.