Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is now in political limbo after having staked his career on the questionable proposition that a viable Palestinian state can be achieved through negotiations with Israel."Negotiations are what make Mr. Abbas tick"? Are we talking about the same guy who had to be dragged yelling and screaming to the peace table?
Negotiations are what make Mr. Abbas tick. But the direct talks with Israel, which began a month ago at the White House, are in danger of collapse after Israel's refused last week to renew a moratorium on settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.
Seriously, what exactly has Abbas negotiated--what has he ever agreed to in exchange for Israeli concessions?
If negotiations are what make Abbas tick, he must have been in a coma these past many months.
See also: Headline Of The Day II: 'Hamas Qassams headed toward LA'
Technorati Tag: Abbas.
I'm still waiting to hear one.... ONE Palestinian concession that's been reported to be on the table.
ReplyDeleteWhat's that - there are none? Barry Rubin is on the record as saying the real reason for the talks is the US elections, stupid.
The Palestinians want to get out - they have NO interest in making peace with Israel. One wonders how Israeli politicians have managed to talk themselves into believing there is a peace partner on the other side in the face of all the evidence to the contrary.
Once the elections are over, the usefulness of the talks for all the sides will come to an end. You don't have to be a prophet to know what the conclusion will be sometime after November.
This is a very interesting piece by Mark Silverberg about the need to see the picture through the eyes of Arab/Muslim leaders and to choose our course of action based on how they actually think. This article shows the mindset behind what this post tells about--that in Arab culture, concessions are seen as a sign of weakness, not a desire to make peace.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hudson-ny.org/1563/negotiating-middle-east