To the editor:

The headline of Roger Cohen's op-ed, "There was no peace process for Trump to destroy," was accurate, but little else in his op-ed was. Obviously, a "peace process" that depended on being blind to the reality that Jerusalem has not only been the capital of the Jewish nation for more than three millennia but the capital of the re-established modern state of Israel for nearly seven decades is not much of a peace process, so there clearly was no such process to destroy.

Indeed, rather than "peace being within reach" 22 years ago when Yitzhak Rabin was assassination, it was already on life support with Rabin considering abandoning what had already become a vehicle for increased Palestinian terrorism rather than peace.

And one can only laugh, perhaps bitterly, at his absurd assertion that "Abbas will come around if the right offer ever comes along." After all, in 2008 Abbas was offered the equivalent of all the disputed portions of the Land of Israel, including a capital in Jerusalem, but rather than "coming around," he walked away from negotiations and, for all practical purposes, has adamantly stayed away ever since.

We can't make peace if the Palestinian Arab leadership refuses to even negotiate.

Sincerely,

Alan Stein