The good news from Annapolis in the US is that the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel have agreed to talk. This is no small achievement given the situation in West Asia and the intransigence of the major players in the region. Talks will begin on December 12. The two sides and the US are hoping to conclude an agreement “before the end of 2008.” The resumption of the peace process is welcome and the deadline impressive. The handshake between PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the presence of representatives of several countries was encouraging as was their verbal commitment to resolution of the decades-long conflict. But now comes the hard work. They have to walk the talk. The two sides have said they will work at concluding a treaty that deals with all core issues. The joint statement refrained from even naming these “core issues” let alone pointing to how they might be addressed.

The US has assumed a more active role; it will be the judge of whether both sides are living up to the commitments they made in the 2003 “road map” peace plan. Israel had undertaken then to freeze settlements and the PA had committed to taking action against militant groups carrying out attacks on Israel. Hitherto it is Israel that has been the de facto arbiter of performance. A third party as arbiter is in principle welcome. But when this arbiter in West Asia is the US, it is hard to see how this is a step forward. It is debatable whether the US, which has not been a fair broker so far, is capable of being an unbiased judge.

Forty nine countries and international organisations were represented at the Annapolis summit. This achievement has however been undermined by the absence of two key players – Hamas and Iran. They were not invited. This underscores yet again the flawed approach to conflict resolution in West asia. Israel and the West might have their differences with Hamas but this is a party that has received the mandate of the Palestinian people. Here was an opportunity to draw Hamas into the negotiating process. Instead, the US blew the opportunity by holding back an invitation to the Hamas, the party that is in control of Gaza and calls the shots in the swathes of the West Bank. No peace will be possible when such an important segment of Palestinian society is excluded.