US-Israel Spat Over Iran Deal May Sideline Palestinians

In recent months, many in the Middle East had assumed — some in hope, others with concern — that once the Iranian nuclear issue was resolved, the United States would make another push for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. But the opposite seems more likely.

After a drawn-out confrontation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Iranian nuclear deal, the White House seems to have little appetite for what would almost certainly be a new round of tensions with the Israeli leader over the terms of Palestinian statehood. With the odds of success slim and U.S. elections approaching, President Barack Obama seems more interested in repairing his tattered relationship with Israel, leaving the Palestinian issue to his successor.

In recent comments, Obama has spoken of boosting security cooperation and providing upgraded military hardware to make up for Israeli misgivings over the nuclear deal. Speaking to the Jewish newspaper The Forward last week, he likened his differences with Israel to a disagreement inside a family and predicted relations would survive the test. "I think it is important for everybody to just take a breath for a moment and recognize that people on both sides of the debate love the United States and also love Israel," Obama said. He made no mention of the Palestinian issue.

A U.S. State Department official told The Associated Press that the U.S. is not planning any bold new diplomatic initiatives after the Iran deal makes its way through Congress. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In Israel, there had been speculation that Obama might act otherwise. "Now that President Barack Obama has got his Iran deal ... he will likely also try, in the year and four months until the presidential elections, to turn his attention to other urgent regional issues, such as Syria, and the talks or lack thereof between Israel and the Palestinian Authority," Israeli commentator Avi Issacharoff wrote in the Times of Israel in July.

The Palestinians have also said they have received vague assurances from the U.S. that they have not been forgotten.

Several factors argue against another White House push to end Israel's half-century-old occupation of Palestinians.

First is Obama's apparent eagerness to make amends after a period of startling acrimony symbolized by Netanyahu's controversial speech to Congress in March, when he railed against the emerging nuclear deal. Netanyahu has only stepped up his criticism since the deal was sealed in Vienna in July, having his ambassador to Washington lobby against the agreement in meetings with American lawmakers. Even after Obama secured the needed support in Congress to uphold the deal last week, Netanyahu vowed to continue fighting it.

The U.S.-led deal gives Iran relief from economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. Netanyahu, with widespread support among the Israeli public, believes Iran will use its newfound funds to promote violence in the region and says the deal will not prevent Iran from ultimately gaining the ability to produce nuclear bombs. Israeli media often depict Obama as naive or even hostile to the country.