(Times-UK) Richard Beeston - Thirty years of intense U.S.-led diplomacy, aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, could draw to an end in the wake of Tuesday's Israeli elections and the confirmation of a new militant Palestinian government. Ever since Washington brokered the Camp David agreement in 1979, successive U.S. administrations have dispatched envoys to the region and produced dozens of plans in the search for an elusive peace. Now, however, the "peace process" could be coming to an end. For the time being there is no question of direct official contact between the new Palestinian government and the West at any senior level until the movement fundamentally changes its policies. America and the EU insist that Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist and abandons the use of violence. Western diplomats concede that in the present climate the chance of any real negotiations is virtually nil.
2006-03-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive