Strategic Assessment

The Annapolis Conference was meant to jumpstart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and enable intensive negotiations over a permanent agreement. Since Israel and the Palestinians did not reach the stated goal of arriving at an agreement by the end of 2008, a widespread view contends that the Annapolis process has proven a complete failure. However, a deeper look at the Israeli-Palestinian process set in motion by the conference indicates that such a judgment is premature, as there was significant progress in developing the relations between the two sides and in creating conditions that may facilitate progress towards an agreement with both international and Arab backing.