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U.S. Pushes Mideast Talks Despite Setbacks
(Wall Street Journal) Joshua Mitnick, Nicholas Casey and Jay Solomon - The Obama administration vowed Wednesday to continue its pursuit of Middle East diplomacy, despite eroding hopes that peace talks can survive beyond a looming deadline and a growing war of words between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Leading Israeli ministers asserted that PA leader Mahmoud Abbas had breached a commitment not to advance statehood in international organizations - a tactic Israel views as ratcheting up diplomatic pressure and bypassing direct negotiations - during the nine-month negotiation period. "The ball is in the Palestinian court,'' Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said. "If they don't want to negotiate - we shouldn't pursue them with gestures." An Israeli officer said his troops weren't on any special alert. One Palestinian politician said Palestinians have become so accustomed to failed diplomacy that Abbas' UN gambit failed to excite his constituents.