Few peacemakers in Israel's Knesset

With determination and political boldness he can do just that. His administration will need to adopt the following strategy:

• first, the White House needs to draft a proposal using the above-mentioned guidelines;
• second, the draft proposal should be submitted to the two sides so that each one can suggest minor alterations; and
• third, the Obama administration will have to hammer out a final proposal.

Finally, this proposal should be publicised, with the US and international community applying pressure by declaring that the two parties will be rewarded if they support the initiative and penalised (economically and politically) if they do not.

The task might seem greater than it actually is, since ironically the majority of Jews (despite the elections) and Palestinians in the region support the two-state solution. The deadlock has occurred because the Israeli political configuration has allowed a sizable minority of settlers and their sympathisers to block all past governments from making the necessary compromises. This deadlock, however, can be overcome if the international community, and particularly the US, assumes a more interventionist role. And while intervention may be conceived by some as anti-Israeli, particularly if such intervention includes sanctions, it is the only way to secure Israel's existence in the long run. Obama should not therefore hesitate to compel the incoming government to adopt the two-state solution. This would be the genuine pro-Israeli stance.