|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-11-11-voa50.cfm
Palestinians Refusing to Negotiate for a Palestinian State
[VOA] Meredith Buel - After nearly ten months of U.S. diplomacy, the Middle East peace process appears to be stalled and no negotiations are on the horizon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is ready to return to peace talks without preconditions, but Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said a settlement freeze needed to be in place before high-level negotiations could begin. Robert Satloff, the executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says that for a generation Palestinians have asked America to convince Israel to negotiate the terms of a Palestinian state. Now Palestinians are refusing to come back to such talks. Satloff predicts it could take years to reach a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians since other foreign policy priorities are likely to seize the attention of President Obama.