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Israeli President Tells EU: "Negotiations for Negotiations' Sake" Will Only Deepen Divisions between Israelis and Palestinians
(Wall Street Journal) Joseph Ataman and Laurence Norman - In a speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday, Israel's president Reuven Rivlin urged the EU to put its weight behind measures to facilitate future negotiations. Rivlin criticized France's peace-conference initiative which he said amounted to "negotiations for negotiations' sake" and would only deepen divisions between Israelis and Palestinians. Rivlin said any peace deal was impossible for now because of divisions between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, which rules in Gaza, as well as regional turmoil and the absence of economic conditions to build confidence between the two sides. He also called for further cooperation with "moderate powers in the region," namely Egypt and Jordan, to develop the Palestinian economy and education system, and promote joint Israeli-Palestinian projects in fields such as renewable energy and tourism.