(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - Senior Israeli government officials said Tuesday that Prime Minister Netanyahu was contemplating a new diplomatic initiative in light of the continued refusal of the Palestinians to negotiate. It is believed that the initiative has been coordinated with the U.S. Israeli government circles feel such a move would take some of the international pressure off Israel and preempt world recognition of a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines. While Netanyahu would prefer a negotiated agreement with the Palestinians, there was no choice but for Israel to initiate its own steps because the "current diplomatic and political status quo is not sustainable." The officials said that the recent unrest in the Arab world had pushed negotiations further away. Unlike a month ago, when Hosni Mubarak was still president of Egypt, there is currently no one in the Arab world with the authority to give PA leader Abbas a green light to negotiate with Israel, even if he wanted to.
2011-03-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive