(Huffington Post) Robert K. Lifton - The Obama Administration, the Quartet, and many Israelis, including Mr. Netanyahu, are urging Mr. Abbas to find a way to continue the negotiations. As one who has consistently supported a peace process, and a two-state solution, I strongly support that position. If the Palestinians are ever to achieve a state of their own they must be flexible in their approach. For too many years, we have watched Palestinian leaders from Yasser Arafat to Mahmuod Abbas make decisions that assured failure to achieve their own objectives. In the final analysis, it is in the best interests of the Palestinian people that the negotiations with Israel continue. That is the only way they have of realizing their hopes for a state of their own. Their success will not stand or fall on the specific amount of land they control but on the talents, drive and commitment of their people. The writer served as President of the American Jewish Congress, President of the Israel Policy Forum, and Co-Chair of the International Board of the Middle East Project of the Council on Foreign Relations.
2010-10-15 10:04:13Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive