There were no doubts that the Camp David peace talks would be punctuated by drama, threats and scares. The negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were focusing on core issues that touched on the very identity of Israelis and the Palestinian people. By design, those questions had been put off until the final talks on the assumption that they could only be tackled once the two sides knew each other better. Unfortunately, seven years of negotiations have done little to narrow the gap between them, and there was a risk that momentum would be lost. That, and probably thoughts of his legacy, inspired U.S. President Bill Clinton to invite the two men to Camp David to break the logjam.
It was a high-risk gamble, but it is unlikely that anyone thought that it would be Mr. Clinton who upped the ante and walked out on the negotiations. That is what he did earlier this week, declaring the summit a failure before departing for the G8 summit in Okinawa. Yet just an hour after the White House made that solemn declaration, the Palestinians and the Israelis agreed to continue without Mr. Clinton.
If Mr. Clinton's move was a bluff, it was well done. His decision to call the summit a failure made each side realize the dangers of intransigence. It forced Mr. Barak and Mr. Arafat to face facts. Mr. Clinton was willing to facilitate negotiations, but he could not push either of the two men to make decisions that were theirs alone to make. They would have to push further and make truly historic decisions if they wanted a real peace.