Has It Occured To Anybody That The Proximity Talks Are Between The Wrong Parties?

If everyone shows goodwill and mutual trust, if all international negotiators actively push the sides toward reconciliation, this goal is quite realistic
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, after meeting Abbas

Too bad that Lavrov was referring to reconciliation between the PA and Israel--and not between PA and Hamas:

A Palestinian committee that was recently formed to find ways to end the crisis between Hamas and Fatah has disbanded after concluding that the gap between the rival parties is unbridgeable.

The panel, which was headed by independent businessman Munib al-Masri, was formed immediately after the flotilla aid ship incident in late May.

Members of the committee were scheduled to visit the Gaza Strip for talks with Hamas leaders about the crisis. However, the visit was canceled after Hamas announced that it would not receive the delegation.

Hani al-Masri, a senior official with the PA Ministry of Information who was chosen as a member of the “reconciliation” committee, blamed both Hamas and Fatah for the continued crisis.

He said that Hamas’s reservations over an Egyptian plan to solve the crisis, as well as Fatah’s opposition to changes in the initiative, were the main reason behind the failure of the mediation efforts.

If Obama is so anxious to bring peace, shouldn't getting Fatah and Hamas on the same page be the priority?

That would keep Mitchell busy.

Technorati Tag: Fatah and Hamas.