STALEMATE

Mideast Peace Talks Could Be Over

Major blow to Obama's credibility.

After a great deal of fanfare, talks between the Israelis and Palestinians have reached what may be a permanent impasse. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas haven’t met since Hillary Clinton brought the two parties together on September 15. And now that the Arab League has said it will wait until November 8 before ending Abbas’ mandate for negotiations, peace talks between the two have been pushed until after the midterm elections. If the GOP makes considerable gains in the House and/or Senate, some Israelis argue it could potentially stop Obama from forcing Israel to make concessions, since the cause of the breakdown appears to be Israel's decision not to extend a 10-month partial freeze of settlement building on Palestinian land. “I cannot stand here tonight and tell you there is some magic formula that I have discovered that will break through the current impasse,” Clinton said Wednesday. “The future holds the possibility of progress, if not in our lifetimes, then certainly in our children's.”