http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,562120,00.html?test=latestnews

<quotes>

Israel's powerful foreign minister declared Thursday that there is no chance 
of reaching a final accord with the Palestinians any time soon, casting a 
pall over the U.S. Mideast envoy's latest effort to get peace talks moving 
again.


Lieberman told Israel Radio on Thursday that anyone who thinks the two sides 
can soon reach a deal ending their decades-old conflict "doesn't understand 
the situation and is spreading delusions."

What the two sides should do, he said, was to come up with a long-term 
interim arrangement that would ensure prosperity, security and stability, 
and leave the tough issues "to a much later stage."

</quotes>

Hard to see how the Obama team can move things along when Israeli ministers 
appear to be reluctant in resolving the issues. Seems Israel may prefer to 
maintain the current status quo ( or improve it in their favour ) than move 
towards a peace accord.

Palestinians are frequently told they must denounce violence and come to the 
negotiating table to resolve their conflict. It doesn't seem surprising that 
they might choose not to if they see it as being rather bluntly told it 
won't do them any good if they did.

I'm sure the 'usual suspects' will still blame Palestinians for the current 
impasse; some people believe 'Israel can do no wrong, ever'. Real progress 
may only come about if Washington comes to conclusion that it is Israel 
which is the obstacle to moving forward and decides to set about changing 
the Israeli mindest.