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Indirect Talks begin between Israel and the Palestinians
The Palestinian spokesman Saeb Erekat stated yesterday that indirect talks have started between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The Palestinian leadership [singlepic id=183 w=320 h=240 float=right] was approved to start the indirect talks after the PLO, Fatah leadership and the Arab leaders gave it the green light to do so.
Senator Mitchell has played an important role in convincing the two sides to agree on starting the indirect talks. Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that indirect talks would not help in achieving a real peace agreement and that direct talks would be much better. The Palestinian leadership agreed on going to indirect talks only because of the American promises which were given regarding the Israeli settlements and a complete freeze of the buildings in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Although the current Israeli government does not seem to be a real partner for peace and is not ready at all to make any kind of compromises regarding East Jerusalem and the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the Palestinian authority agreed to go to indirect talks hoping that the American leadership will play a good role in pushing Israel to agree on what it considers not negotiable. Diplomatically the Palestinian authority succeeded recently in convincing the International community and the American leadership that Israel have been acting in any possible way to prevent a peace process that could cost it a compromise regarding Jerusalem and the borders of the future Palestinian state. [singlepic id=182 w=320 h=240 float=left]
Senator Mitchell’s promises to the Palestinian authority and the continuous American efforts in the region obliged both sides to agree on the indirect talks which does not seem to be serious at the moment. The success of these talks depends on the American reaction to any Israeli possible steps that would include building new settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank or any other action that would result in taking the region to a new confrontation. The Arab world demanded continuously from the United States to be fair and act with justice while observing the Israeli Palestinian conflict. The recent new challenges which the United States is facing in the Middle East including the Iranian nuclear project convinced the American leadership that in order to succeed in facing its challenges it must change its policy towards the Arab world and work more to put an end to the Israeli Palestinian conflict.
The question is whether the United States is really determined this time to observe and direct the Israeli Palestinian talks seriously and fairly or it will act as in the past without using all the abilities it have. Prime Minister Netanyahu is not negotiating the Palestinians for the first time and he already directed negotiations with the Palestinians in the past refusing to make any kind of compromise regarding East Jerusalem, the Israeli settlements, the Palestinian prisoners and many other cases so will he change his mind and will his rightist government support him in making decisions that would be different from the past..I don’t think so.
