[Beerinkol]

From news article:
He added that: "This new thesis, which President Obama presented in his Thursday's speech, supports the Arab viewpoint, and is a basic hindrance for the Israeli side, which links the size of Israel before 1967 to the ability to defend it, as the Israelis say that if Israel is of small area, it will be difficult to defend it."

Helal doubts the possibility of resuming the peace talks between the Israeli and Palestinian sides at the current time. He says: "I believe that the circumstances are suitable for conducting any negotiations, because the climate in the Arab region does not allow this. The absence of governments in Arab side that are prepared to put their weight behind the peace process makes it more difficult to find regional support for the peace efforts. The climate in the Arab countries in general is hostile to the United States and Israel. I believe that the mistake is not in what President Obama has said, but it is in its timing, because had he adopted this stance immediately when he assumed the presidency, this would have been better than his insistence of halting the settlement activities. This is because halting the settlement activities during a transitional period in which peace has not yet been achieved is something that no Israeli prime minister has agreed to as a result of the domestic pressure. Moreover, this has not been a demand or a condition stipulated by the Palestinian side, even during the period of signing the Oslo Accord."

Helal stresses that the loser in this battle will not be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the loser will be the US President. This is because of many reasons, the first of which is that the US Congress is not in the hands of the Democrats, but it is in the hands of the Republican Party, which is prepared to understand the Israeli situation, and to support the Israeli prime minister. The second reason is that, so far, there is no Arab country that is prepared to support the United States publicly, and engage as a fundamental partner in pushing forward the peace process.