TOMORROW IS YESTERDAY

Hard lessons from decades of Middle East diplomacy.

Reflecting on their long-term efforts to reduce violence between Israelis and Palestinians, Agha, a scholar who has represented the latter in peace talks, and Malley, a veteran of the last three Democratic presidential administrations, pen a doleful epitaph for the so-called two-state solution. The authors started their careers hoping to help establish “a single entity in which Jews and Arabs would coexist as equals.” Eventually, they yielded to “what appeared at the time the more realistic and pragmatic objective”—a Palestinian state bordering Israel. But Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel—and Israel’s ongoing counterattacks in Gaza—have muted such ideas. The best the authors hope for today is that peace negotiators consider “a departure from convention,” one that would neither accept the current carnage nor impose one- or two-state compromises doomed to failure. They offer several alternatives. Among the most concrete are a truth and reconciliation process and the establishment of “a Jordanian-Palestinian confederation.” Such a link “has historical antecedents” and might help address an otherwise intractable dispute: “What Israelis would not hand over to a Palestinian state, they might grant a joint entity headed by Jordan.” While looking ahead, the authors offer a riveting insiders’ account of high-stakes statesmanship. Then–Secretary of State John Kerry brought unequaled “passion and enthusiasm” to the negotiations, but his work was for naught, in part because his boss—President Obama—didn’t leverage the billions of dollars in U.S. military aid that goes to Israel to forge lasting peace. Past Palestinian leaders were often chided for “never miss[ing] an opportunity to miss an opportunity,” but the authors, looking closely at peace talks since the 1990s, demonstrate that this is a major oversimplification.

A fascinating postmortem of failed statesmanship in a fraught region—and a guarded plea for new ideas.