Unlike some previous proposals for the creation of a Palestinian state, the recent U.S. peace plan leaves the easternmost area of the West Bank under Israeli control. This arrangement also strengthens the security of the Kingdom of Jordan, writes Efraim Inbar, which has itself long seen the Palestinian national movement as a threat:

In his first interview after leaving office, the former head of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, admitted that he had erred in believing that Israel could come to some sort of accord with Hamas. In his own words: