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Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=17169
Serious Negotiations vs. Reality
(Israel Hayom) Zalman Shoval - With Russia's offer to host talks between PA President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Moscow, the more important question is: Is the ground ripe for such talks, and is there any reasonable chance they would result in a positive outcome? The Palestinians continue to set preconditions for any meeting: the release of prisoners and the halt to all settlement construction. Israel cannot accept these conditions because doing so would make negotiations meaningless and require Israel to make concessions on disputed issues in advance. Yet the cause for the most concern is that the Palestinians have announced that they have no intention of relinquishing "the right of return," are not willing to recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people, or show flexibility on any issue whatsoever. The writer is a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S.