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Ninety Days in the Middle East

(Washington Post) Editorial - The Obama administration's efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian talks are less evocative of true grit than of desperate improvisation. We have no objection to the reported incentives. Despite their cost, the F-35s will help preserve Israel's margin of security at a time when Iran's nuclear program remains unchecked. Having largely created the impasse over settlements with pointless demands that Israel cease all building, President Obama will now pay dearly to take the issue off the table. Administration officials appear to hope that in 90 days the territory of the new state can be mostly delineated, rendering the settlement issue moot. Yet past negotiations have revealed some big differences between the two sides on territory, and they are unlikely to be settled without trade-offs on other core issues, such as the disposition of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.
2010-11-17 07:55:54
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