Israeli-Palestinian Issue Isn’t America’s Top Mideast Priority Anymore – Elias Groll
(Daily Alert)

The U.S. may be heavily engaged in shepherding peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, but according to Anne Patterson, who has been nominated as the State Department’s next top Middle East official, the issue just isn’t a top priority for the U.S. any more. On Wednesday, Patterson agree with Vali Nasr, dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a former Obama administration official, that the Israeli-Palestinian issue has moved away from its central place in U.S. policy toward the region. “It’s certainly not the most urgent problem that we face now in the Middle East, but it’s one that could have enormous long-term consequences,” Patterson said.

    Nasr said, “It’s good if we make any kind of progress [on the Israeli-Palestinian issue], but right now, as I said, the future of that region is being written in Syria, to some extent in this discussion of Iran, and when you have a country the size of Egypt – its future somewhat open to question – that really is much more important.”  (Foreign Policy)