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Source: http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.586945
Why Are We Surprised Every Time Abbas Fails to Sign a Peace Agreement with Israel?
(Ha'aretz) Ari Shavit - In early 1997, Yossi Beilin showed me a comprehensive outline for peace that he said he had formulated 18 months earlier with Mahmoud Abbas. In 2000, we went to the peace summit at Camp David. Surprise: Abbas didn't bring the Beilin-Abbas plan or any other draft of a peace proposal. The opposite was true: He was one of the staunchest objectors. During the fall of 2003, as the Geneva Accord was being formulated, it was clear to us that now, Abbas would sign the new peace agreement and adopt its principles. Surprise: No signature, no accord. in 2008 we got behind Ehud Olmert, and the marathon talks he held with Abbas, and the offer that couldn't be refused. Surprise: Abbas didn't actually refuse, he just disappeared. In 2014, surprise: Abbas said no to both John Kerry and Barack Obama. Abbas' position is clear and consistent: The Palestinians must not be required to make concessions. After twenty years of fruitless talks, there is no document that contains any real Palestinian concession with Abbas' signature. There never was, and there never will be.