How the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is failing

BY THE STANDARDS of the peace process, if not international law, Oranit is not a terribly contentious Jewish settlement. The Palestinians previously accepted that this hilly town of low-slung homes in the occupied West Bank would remain part of Israel in a future two-state solution. In one negotiating session their disagreements amounted to an area of about 400 square metres. It has grown into a commuter town, half an hour by motorway from Tel Aviv, and rates nine out of ten on Israel’s “socioeconomic index”, a measure of education, wealth and employment.Look east across the sun-baked hills and one sees Azzun Atmeh, an impoverished Palestinian village. No easy commutes for its residents: it is almost fully encircled by settlements and the imposing separation barrier. This is theoretically part of a future Palestine, but right now it is Israel, with most of its land designated as “Area C”, where Israel holds civil and military jurisdiction.