The Palestinians, peace talks, and settlements seem to be almost entirely irrelevant to this election season.

Hatnua leader Tzipi Livni talks about negotiations with the Palestinians a lot. It’s become her calling card. And yet, it was jarring to read a press release that her spokesman sent this week, where she talked about “an immediate dialogue with the Palestinian Authority,” saying that “separation [from the Palestinians] is an Israeli interest.”

Livni’s comments – which were so characteristic for her, were still a shock to the system because, well, talks have been so low on the agenda for so long. Continue reading