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U.S. Role in Israeli-Palestinian Talks Is a Problem
(U.S. News) Mortimer B. Zuckerman - There is a serious problem in procedure in the latest Israeli-Palestinian talks. The Americans will sit in on the direct negotiations, something the Arab leaders wanted in the belief that the Obama administration is the most pro-Palestinian in history. The Israelis accepted only reluctantly. In all previous meetings, the Americans entered the talks in a serious way only at the endgame. The trouble with the current approach is that this will make it harder for the Israelis and the Palestinians to engage. An example is Israel's 10-month-old moratorium on settlement construction, an Israeli gesture of good faith, put forth in the hope of a reciprocal response from the Palestinians. It was not forthcoming. In the culture of the Middle East, an unrequited gesture is not regarded as magnanimous but as a sign of weakness, and as such inviting further pressure. That, in part, is why the Israelis are unwilling to extend this moratorium. American officials must urge the Palestinian leadership to stop their threats and recognize that the talks will have to begin with both sides having to make concessions.