I'm no expert on this situation, far from it, but what bargaining chips does Palestine have?Of course the talks are not equal. To some extent, equal is the wrong way to look at it, though. The Palestinians are never, at least in any possible foreseeable future from here, going to be Israel’s equal in power, in any regard—political, economic, military. Not even close. What this really means is that the U.S. mantra that “the conflict can only be resolved through direct, bilateral negotiations between the parties” is simply untrue. That’s never going to be the right path. But the Palestinians do not need to be equal. What they need is some way to give Israel an incentive to negotiate.
Outside of leverage induced by violence, or the promised absence of it, what possibly could Palestine offer Israel? As Mr. Plitnick aptly says, they're never going to rival Israel economically or militarily. What else is there in geopolitical negotiations? Waiting for the US to do anything with any teeth in this matter is a fools wish.
The Palestinians are going to be fighting an uphill battle no matter what tactics they take. I touch on alternative strategies in the interview, though I don't go into much detail. But the Palestinians have better options than waiting for the US to do something it will never do. Two of them are being pursued already, which is a combination of mostly non-violent protest and the movement for boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS). As I pointed out in the interview, I have some reservations about the way BDS is being pursued, but it's a key component. If done properly, it can create real economic pressure on Israel by growing opposition to the occupation and doing any business with it, particularly in Europe (if it overcomes Europe, the US will eventually follow, just as it did with South Africa). The current movement is limited because it does not have the support of the recognized Palestinian leadership in Ramallah, which differentiates it from the boycott movement in South Africa. If the PA supported and helped to lead that movement, if it supported more fully the ongoing protests in the West Bank, and, most importantly, if it used its newly won leverage in the international judicial system (something Israel is actually quite frightened of) these can combine to exert real pressure on Israel and create the incentives I spoke about being so necessary. And, as I said in the piece, I'm pretty confident that a future Palestinian leadership will pursue just such a course.