[Asharq al-Aswat] The Paleostinian president has left the door open to continuing peace negotiations with Israel even if it resumes settlement construction in the West Bank, offering a glimmer of hope that a compromise will be reached in a key dispute that has threatened to torpedo the newly relaunched talks.| That's not a compromise, that's complete surrender on the issue. President Obama's insistence on negotiations, coupled with Prime Minister Netanyahu's politically necessary intransigence on this issue, is having an effect -- the first time the Palestinians have not stood firm on a pre-negotiation demand. Not that this means the negotiations will have any concrete result as the Palestinians haven't yet reached the point of suing for peace, but even so. |
Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly threatened to walk away from peace talks, launched this month in Washington, if Israel resumes building in its West Bank settlements after a 10-month moratorium expires on Sunday.
| Walk away and be damned. Even left wing Israelis don't believe you are serious, O ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas. |
Speaking to a closed meeting of Jewish American leaders in New York late Tuesday, Abbas made clear that he wants to continue the interminable yap-yap with Israel and signaled that he was backing away from his ultimatum.
"I cannot say I will leave the negotiations, but it's very difficult for me to resume talks if Prime Minister Netanyahu declares that he will continue his activity in the West Bank and Jerusalem," Abbas said, according to a transcript of the event obtained by The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.