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Top U.S. Middle East Envoy Gives Post-Mortem on Peace Talks
(ABC News) Ali Weinberg - Martin Indyk gave an expansive post-mortem of the failed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on Thursday. "One problem that revealed itself in these past nine months is that the parties, although both showing flexibility in the negotiations, do not feel the pressing need to make the gut-wrenching compromises necessary to achieve peace," Indyk said. Palestinians decided it was easier for them to sign on to worldwide conventions and gain recognition by international bodies in pursuit of statehood than to work on a long-lasting compromise. Indyk noted that Abbas in particular had one other factor that caused him to withdraw, because he is nearing the end of his career and became more focused on his political legacy and succession than on reaching an agreement as the talks went on. Despite the failure of the negotiators to achieve progress in this round, Indyk said all parties are better informed about what it takes to achieve a permanent status agreement. And he dismissed the idea that the peace process was dead for now. "In the Middle East, it's never over," he said.