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Source: http://www.bitterlemons.org/inside.php?id=108
More Diplomatic Theater?
(bitterlemons.org) Gerald M. Steinberg - Some key European officials realize that the UN effort is yet another means for Abbas and the PLO to avoid direct negotiations with Israel along with the necessary compromises on refugee claims, Jerusalem and recognizing the Jewish right to national sovereignty. There are also signs that some parts of Palestinian society - particularly in the West Bank - are less than enthusiastic about this scenario of symbolic independence and possible confrontation. In recent years their economic situation has improved dramatically. Another period of instability, terrorism and the necessary Israeli responses to protect Israeli civilians would quickly destroy all of these gains. The Jordanian leadership has never been enthusiastic about a Palestinian state on its borders, with its potential spillover into Jordan's own Palestinian population. The writer, professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan University, is the founder of NGO Monitor.