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Why the Negotiations Broke Down

(i24 News) Ben-Dror Yemini - These negotiations were serious. The framework started coming together. So why did the negotiations break down? Because John Kerry refused to learn from the past. We've seen the same framework he was planning to present in previous rounds: Bill Clinton's framework, Ehud Olmert's framework. The Palestinians said no - twice. And both times, they paid no price. Both times, the finger was pointed at Israel. Then Kerry made a series of statements about the boycott that Israel would be facing if negotiations fail. Kerry didn't mean to - but he signaled the way for the Palestinians to once again raise the bar on their demands. Kerry made it clear to the Palestinians that Israel would be paying the price alone. Nothing would happen to them. Some claim that Israel brought about the crisis in negotiations because of its refusal to release prisoners. That's interesting. According to the deal being formulated, the Palestinians would have gotten many more than the 26 prisoners originally slated for release, so where's the refusal? Additionally, one should remember that the Palestinians announced in advance that the negotiations were about to end. Under such circumstances, refusing to make the last payment was the sensible thing to do. Consider a buyer who has made three payments and is about to make the fourth, except that before doing so, he finds out that the seller has no merchandise. Would going through with the last payment be reasonable?
2014-04-08 00:00:00
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