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Expect a Process, But Likely No Peace

[Toronto Star] Oakland Ross - The Israeli-Palestinian peace talks now underway in Jerusalem and Ramallah under the tutelage of U.S. Secretary of State Rice may not come to much - but they're better than nothing. Perhaps most significant about the current negotiations, following a seven-year hiatus, is that they are taking place at all. "I think we will have a process," said Gabriel Ben-Dor, chair of the school of politics at the University of Haifa. "I don't think we will have peace. I don't see a conclusive agreement that will put an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." That seems to be the consensus view among Israeli experts. "It's very obvious this is an attempt at the last minute to swim against the tide," said Mahdi Abdul-Hadi, head of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs. "It's too late and too weak, and there's no hope for it." "The first question a diplomat has to ask himself is whether the gap between the parties is bridgeable or unbridgeable," said Dore Gold, president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. "The gap between the Palestinians and the Israelis is presently too wide. When you get down to the hard realities of the positions of both parties, this is going to be a very difficult exercise."
2007-10-17 01:00:00
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