The Palestinian-Israeli Negotiations – A Current Overview

C. Jacob and L. Barkan
MEMRI
22 September '10

(This report sets an excellent base-line to evaluate other news as it surfaces. MEMRI provides it's readers with the ability to hear and see what's being said in it's Arabic presentation, not only the English version meant for Western consumption. Y.)

Introduction

On September 2, 2010, direct negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel resumed in Washington, DC. In contrast to the grim atmosphere on the Palestinian side prior to the meetings – when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas agreed reluctantly, as if under duress, to participate in the negotiations – during the negotiations themselves the atmosphere was considerably lighter. Very quickly, however, the Palestinian leaders, headed by Abbas, reiterated their declaration that they would make no concessions, and even threatened that if their demands were not met, and if the freeze on the settlements were not extended, they would quit the talks. Most of them expressed pessimism about the negotiations' chances for success.

As the talks resumed, Palestinian opposition forces attempted to torpedo the process with terror attacks. These were backed by Iran, which is striving to delegitimize the Palestinian Authority. In response, the PA representatives mounted an unprecedentedly ruthless attack on Iran, which included a call for bringing down the regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Abbas: We Entered the Negotiations to Take Advantage of Historic Opportunity

Several days after the Washington summit, Abbas told the PA daily Al-Ayyam in an interview: "It's not a matter of optimism or pessimism when there is a global call headed by the U.S for negotiations. Either you take advantage [of the opportunity] and answer the call, or you do not. There might not be much hope, but if you go, you have a presence there, and if you are absent, the whole world will tell you that you missed an historic opportunity. So we went... I lose nothing by going, but I do lose if during the negotiations I abandon a major [Palestinian] issue here and there...

(Read full report)

If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.
.