Ever since the Obama administration took office, and Prime Minster Netanyahu gained power in Israel after making deals with a right wing coalition, relations between Israel and the United States has been somewhat strained.

President Obama made his intentions clear early on when he made his famous Cairo speech saying, "At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.  This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop."

It was a definite break from solidarity with Israel, and the first crack in Israeli/U.S. ties.  The Israeli government was shocked that the United States would ask them to compromise at all with Palestinians to help forge a way forward on the peace process.  It was so disconcerting to that government that an entire year has passed without movement from either side.  Some may argue that President Obama backed the Israeli's into a corner because the Prime Minister could only govern with the help of the right, who was outraged at the thought of stopping continued expansion in Gaza and East Jerusalem, but Palestinians wouldn't talk unless there was a freeze on settlements.

I can only assume that Israeli officials were simmering in their own stew for many months over the audacity to be asked to show some good will in the name of peace, because when Vice President Joe Biden flew there to help jump start peace talks, the Israeli government announced the development of 1,600 new settlement homes in East Jerusalem.  Suffice it to say that it was embarrassing for the Vice President, angered the Palestinians, and shamed the Israeli people.  Vice President Biden publicly lashed out at Netanyahu's government saying, "It is incumbent on both parties to build an atmosphere of support for negotiations and not to complicate them."

"Yesterday the decision by the Israeli government to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem undermines that very trust, the trust that we need right now in order to begin ... profitable negotiations," Biden said."

Fast forward a couple of months and we have a stalled peace process, and a Middle East ally that seems to be more interested in stoking the flames, rather than finding a way out of the weeds.  Just today, the Prime Minister of Turkey (granted Turkey's current government is much more religious than previous secular governments) said, "It's Israel that is the principal threat to regional peace."  This is coming form a country that is a long time ally to Israel, both politically and militarily.

What does this mean?  It means that if Israel's plan is to isolate itself from its allies and take on Iran and the rest of the Middle East on its own, it's doing a pretty good job.  There have been hints that Israel is slowly backing away from its earlier positions on settlements, but they've only done themselves a disservice, possibly weakening their bargaining position for any future talks in the eyes of the world.

I would like to see a two state solution, as I'm sure most sane people would like to see as well, with Jerusalem the capital of not just Israel, but of Palestine as well.  There has even been the hint that President Obama may propose his own peace plan based on previous agreements, although some worry that proposing a plan would seem like an imposition.  I would say that the current situation between Palestinians, Israel, and Iran isn't really all that great, especially with Iran pursuing nuclear weapons.  So, when I hear that perhaps the Obama administration would like to float another idea around to ease tensions and work towards peace, I say bring it on.