[Ha'aretz] Aluf Benn and Shmuel Rosner - Bush's trip to the region was to a large extent designed to reassure Saudi Arabia and Israel, and to promise them that America is still committed to confronting Iran, "which was, is and will be a threat," as the president said in Jerusalem. Some are already identifying signs that the Palestinians have decided that it might be better for them to wait for the next U.S. administration. These signs are manifested in a toughening of Palestinians' demands: full withdrawal, full sovereignty, military capabilities. That does not bode well for the negotiations that are supposed to begin next week between Israel Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Ahmed Qureia on the core issues.
2008-01-11 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive