[Jerusalem Post] Barry Rubin - The PA forcefully insists that it won't meet formally with Israel until all construction in all Jewish settlements in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem stops completely. However, U.S.-Israel discussions have moved past that point. The administration isn't pushing for a total halt and it isn't pushing all that urgently on the issue. Therefore, while Israel has succeeded in conciliating the U.S., the PA is defying Washington. What both the U.S. and Europe fail to see is that the Palestinians don't need or want rapid progress on negotiations or even a state except on what would be completely their own terms. They believe, and this is what they have been shown, that intransigence on their part actually brings more criticism of Israel. If you believe that the world is about to condemn Israel as a pariah, war criminal state, why make compromises with it? The writer is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal.
2009-10-28 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive