Mitchell to Abbas: No more excuses, renew Mideast talks

they won the the war now bulldoze houses and and turn them into 100,000,000 refugees and put them in a big prison

Einstein was a great scientist,however; he was ignorant when it came to his own people. Who says that a great scientist will be a great Jew, or even a great cook????!!!!!!

The Balfour Declaration did not take into account the response of the Arabs to the returning Jews. It mentioned how the Jews should react to the Arabs but not how the Arabs should react to the Jews.

Albert Einstein was not against Israel. He was a leftist who was against Nationalism in general. He definitely was against the type of Nationalism found in the Arab lands...the neofascist type.

Obama raised hopes with his Cairo speech. He praised the Saudi Plan for Middle East peace. He had Abbas withdraw support for debate of the Goldstone Report in the UN for the sake of facilitating the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. He demanded Israel stop settlements. Then Obama capitulated to Israel and Netanyahu on all these issues. Obama and Hillary further damaged relations with the Arab world. Fortunately Abbas recanted and then supported the debate of the Goldstone Report. But the vision of the Obama administration as being an impartial, objective force was destroyed. Were they blunders? Were they calculated policy positions? Or were they attempts at style with little substance? Regardless the damage was done by Obama and his administration. A good outcome is that Abbas realizes he cannot rely on the USA to objectively represent the Palestinians as long as Obama remains in bed with Netanyahu.

Einstein feared the damage a Jewish state would do to the Jewish faith. He stated, "I am afraid of the inner damage Judaism will sustain -- especially from the development of a narrow nationalism within our own ranks???." He also wrote a letter to the New York Times in the early 1950's indicating Begin should never be allowed into the USA because of Begin's war crimes against the Palestinians. Truth is there, but many people choose to ignore it for the sake of zealotry or free land.

In Ireland you were dealing with Protestant and Catholics. Different yet the same. Christian morals. Jewish morals Christian morals run side by side. Islamic leaders are afraid of their religion or rather the hijackers of their religion. Give too much and you are dead. Abbas wants to live to see his millions of dollars. He will liveout his life better than Arafat.

E: "Based on 242, which calls upon Israel to withdraw its troops to secure boundaries from "territories", not all of them!!!," So sorry, Eitan, but you really should read a document before commenting on it. Res 242 says this: "Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict;" It says nothing about the IDF withdrawing **TO** boundaries (of any description, secure or otherwise) calling instead for the IDF to withdraw **FROM** territory occupied in the Six Day War. The part in 242 that calls for everyone to live together in peace, harmony, and brown rice "within secure and recognized boundaries" only comes AFTER the call for an IDF withdrawal from occupied territory. You are wrong.

Why get 22% now whne under a Binational State they can have 100 %

so that we can see who is for perace and who is against Peace.

what sovereign territory did israel acquire by war??? it does not apply to israels own teritory given by treaty at san remo 1920 which remains extant !

was added. apart from it being a very vague promise the land was still part of turkey! the reason homelend and not state was used for the same reason. even more if the phrase is also used universally it applies to jews being protected from terrorism by muslims. something the british failed to do !

Roosevelt, Once said, Carry a big stick behind your back but speak softly. (words to that effect) But here Mr. Mitchell,in the Middle East when you talk softly e.g. to Abbas or for that matter other Arab 'dignitaries'. They either mock you to your face,or preferably behind your back. And they all carry a dagger behind their backs ! What is surprising,is that your roots are from Lebanon,& even though you spent all or most of your life in the States,surely your parents must have passed Arab folklore stories over to you ?

So why do not you give arabs west bank (which includes east jerusalem) to live in it on the basis of: 1- population exchange (pal state takes all arabs and jew states takes all jews) 2 - international force to seperate the two states to protect israel from arabs. This way there will be no threat whatsover to Israel??? But wait? Israel does not want to give arabs any land... so they have to live with it and live with 20 million moslem in 2050. Sooner or later, if Israel does not do the solution above, they will be facing 20 m muslim

It's already considered as such by three major religions. And who wouldn't be proud to announce themselves as a citizen of "The Holy Land"? I think I'd apply for citizenship just to be allowed to say it.

If you won't broker a deal on the Palestinians' behalf, what are you prepared to do? Much of this protracted situation is a direct result of American UNSC vetoes.

Why do you think Jewish people emmigrating from other countries and leaving their homes and everything they worked all their lives,#21? Yeah, I thought so.. not a clue.. Because they do not want to be ostracized and blamed for all the evils in the world from financial to political only because they are JEWS. In Israel they can play politics, send their kids to any school or university without hearing too many Jews are lawyers or politicians or businessmen. You,#21, want to bring into a mix the most vicious crowd(islam) into Israel and eventually turn it into a blood-bath.. Stay away #21, your altruisitc/philantropic thoughts belong to UTOPIA!!! Have a drink and go to the Jazz club where you belong...

In a few years it will be evident with all the negotiations abbas has done, nothing has developed and israel carries on building settlements the Palestinians will vote hamas into the west bank and than the Israelis will realise their mistake. It will be too late and while Israel suffers thousands of deaths the Palestinians will reach far higher numbers leading to more war crimes. That or Iran will have developed a nuclear bomb and peace will be brought by Iran.

Hear, hear, Tony

It is entirely up to the state of Israel what to negotiate and how to negotiate. It is certainly not up to OUTSIDERS to garantee a SQUAT...

Im sure no harm will befall the Jews once they are outnumbered in their own homeland 10:1, with hostile entities surrounding it, and arab control of the Knesset and Israeli leadership. Has history taught you nothing? The existence of Israel itself is a response to the fundamental need for a homeland of your own kind. Jews governed by Muslims??? Are you crazy? They hate Jews more than they love their own kids.

The British army had beaten the IRA to a pulp in a campaign that makes the IDF look like Girl Guides on a stroll.It didn't really matter who offered the IRA terms,it could have been King Billy,they would have grabbed them.Mitchell just happened to be the man on the scene.He had very little to do with it. THREE CHEERS FOR ISRAEL!!!

'under international law, Jordan was prohibited from capturing that land (the West Bank)... Incorrect. The UN awarded the land to an Arab state, without specifying which Arab. As Jordan, being the nearest neighbour, is the obvious Arab state, then it was quite entitled to pick up the mantle. It rightly later on relinquished it in favour of Palestine. '... and ethnically cleansing it of Jews to begin with.' Yeah. To put it in perspective, there were very few Jews in the West Bank, we're talking hundreds not thousands . Compare and contrast with 800,000 Palestinians terrorised out of Israel in 1947/8. 'Jews are not prohibited from moving back in.' Jews are as entitled as anyone to buy land and homes there. That is not what is happening though. What we have is the Israeli ARMY requisitioning the land, the Israeli STATE creating tricky laws to steal it. Neither are individuals. Your argument collapses here.

What does Israel have to lose by talking to Abbas? Jerusalem, to start with. Our heartland of Judea and Samaria. Our security. Abbas wants to reduce Israel's waist to 8 miles. A liesurely three hour hike for our enemies to cut our state in half. Abbas also wants to place every Israeli city and town within range of terror rockets. Abbas also wants to flood our tiny Homeland with hostile Arabs. These are some of what Israel has to lose by talking to Abbas. Here's the question nobody has a rational answer for. Israel has _____ to gain by talking to Abbas.

has obviously never read resolution 242

"You`re right, however, Israel won the war in a defensive war which gives them the right to win land and use it as they please" That is completely wrong. There is NOTHING in international law that distinguishes between aggressive and defensive acquisition by war - BOTH are equally illegal, because the acquisition of territory by war is itself illegal. Israeli Zios just make up arguments left, right and centre, they don't seem to need to be based on anything real at all, just Zio wish dreams! Nice try Al but nil points this time. As said, there are a number of good books on the subject, though they are not written for beginners.

"Under international law, it is prohibited to acquire land by conquest. Has been since 1948. So no, Israel CANNOT `win it in war`, it doesn`t work like that." Except, under international law, Jordan was prohibited from capturing that land and ethnically cleansing it of Jews to begin with. Jews are not prohibited from moving back in.

"The Jewish vote in the USA is VERY small, what kind of chicken is he?" The people of the U.S. are very supportive of Israel. What kind of racist are you?

If what you interpret as an expert in International Law is accurate, a question begs to be asked. If Israel returns all the captured land from 1967, where is the incentive for the Arabs not to attack again ?? They can start any number of wars, without risk, knowing that as losers, their land will always be returned intact. I would like to go to a casino in Las Vegas under those conditions. If I win, I keep everything, if I lose -- my money will be returned to me in whole by the casino. What a country !! Cummings, I wonder, had Israel LOST (G-d forbid) in 1967, would you be as vociferous in claiming Israel should have all the land returned by the Arabs. I strongly doubt it, International Law doesn't apply, right Cummings. Only when Israel wins a DEFENSIVE WAR.

REMEMBER, THAT IN THIS DECLARATION WAS CONTAINED THE PHRASE: "IT BEING CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD THAT NOTHING SHALL BE DONE WHICH MAY PREJUDICE THE CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS RIGHTS OF EXISTING NON-JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN PALESTINE". UNTIL THIS IS DONE THERE WILL BE NO PEACE IN ISRAEL AND WILL GIVE HER ENEMIES THE AMMUNITION WITH WHICH TO DRAG THE WORLD INTO ITS' NEXT MAJOR CONFLICT.

No Palestinian leader whether Abbas or anybody else, irreleven t of the world preassure put on him will sign peace agreement with Israel.Any Palestinian leader signing peace agreemen has less then 24 hours to live. The world must understand, Palestinians will never give up 1 millimiter of what they consider their land,this includes Israel proper, from the river to the sea. The Palestinians are prepared to suffer and beg charity from the world indefinately, but no to any agreement no matter how much in their favour. Agreement meens surrender and loss for Palestinians. The sooner the world understands the sooner some kind of arengement may be implemented to create peace. As long as the Palestinians can keep the world believing they are the victims there will be no agreements

If what you said is true, would you not have to condemn Jordan's incursion into the WB from 48 to 67, killing and expelling all Jews and literally stealing their land? Jordan literally stole Jewish property. Today all you Pal apologist claim Israel "steals" land, which they do not. Jews are expanding, yes, but purchasing the land. You are using "steal" as an inciting word when you can't get your point across any other way. Mainly because you don't have a point.

...secure boundaries from "territories", not all of them!!!, taken over during the June 1967 Six-Day War, does not suggest the setting up of an additional state in the region nor does it mention concepts such as "Palestine", "Palestinians" or a "Palestinian state". Thus, Israel, based on agreements with Egypt and Jordan, should withdraw to secure and recognized boundaries. It will then be up to Egypt to set up an additional state in Gaza and up to Jordan to do the same in parts of the West Bank. Alternatively, each may incorporate these two territories into the respective states of Egypt and Jordan, which was of course the intent of 242 in the first place and which makes all the sense in the world.

Abbas does not lead the WB. The WB is controlled by the 23 member Fatah Central Committee, and only retains Abbas as a figurehead because he is no threat. The Fatah Charter has no provisions for a 2 State, or any kind of peace with Israel. They explicitly seek the destruction of Israel, exactly as Hamas does. Read it carefully. Abbas cannot produce anything of value to Israel without losing his life. Talking might be better than shooting, but not by much. Obama has learned enough to stay out of it.

West of Jordan. So, they are back to their place, for one or another, because Israel is tired of your terrorism and rejectionism.

"You have to go back to League of Nations partition, where Arab Palestine is East of Jordan and Israel west of Jordan." This is simply a lie.

You obviously hold Einstein in high regard, so here's something he said about Zionism. "My awareness of the essential nature of Judaism resists the idea of a Jewish state with borders, an army, and a measure of temporal power, no matter how modest. I am afraid of the inner damage Judaism will sustain -- especially from the development of a narrow nationalism within our own ranks, against which we have already had to fight strongly, even without a Jewish state." Albert Einstein

To #45.. You're right, however, Israel won the war in a defensive war which gives them the right to win land and use it as they please....Keep in mind also that Jews were on that land way before Arabs.. Also, here are some points to note.... The Quaran says the word jerusalem once....the Torah names Jerusalem and Israel over and over... When Palestinians pray, their backs are turned to Jerusalem.....

and "confidence-building measures in the West Bank" ? Like the army taking the playground of Oush Grab away from the families of Beit Sahour? Like the treatment non-violent protesters are subject to in Biilin ? Mitchell insults ordinary intelligence with his words.

Delusional pals, stuck in their fantasies to get what they loose in a just war.

"it`s not stolen, it was won in war" Under international law, it is prohibited to acquire land by conquest. Has been since 1948. So no, Israel CANNOT 'win it in war', it doesn't work like that. Under international law, an occupying power cannot acquire occupied land or settle its own population there, it's illegal. That's why everyone wants Israel the heck out of the West Bank - it has no legal right to be there. Under international law, an occupying power cannot gain sovereignty over an occupied territory, unless the civil authority of that territory - the PA acting on behalf of the PLO in this case - consents to it. There is no consent, so there is no Israeli sovereignty, so it cannot be Israeli land. End of. Your lack of any basic understanding of the facts rather stands out superjew. There are some good books you could read on the subject.

It's about time to see the waist of time that is talk to this people.

IT MIGHT BE OF SOME INTEREST TO NOTE ONE OF THE ITEMS ON THIS GREAT MAN'S DESK, FOUND AFTER HIS DEATH AND PRIOR TO A PLANNED SPEECH TO THE ISRAELI KNESSET, WAS THE FOLLOWING INTRODUCTION: " I AM NOT AN AMERICAN, I AM NOT A JEW, I AM A HUMAN BEING". IT WAS, THEREFORE, NOT A SURPRISE THAT JEWISH LEADERS OF THAT DAY WERE SHAKING IN THEIR BOOTS, AND MUCH RELIEVED WHEN HE TURNED DOWN THE PRESIDENCEY OF ISRAEL WHICH WOULD THEN GO TO CHAIM WEITZMAN. FOR A DEFINITIVE WORK ON HIS LIFE, WORKS AND TRIALS, GO TO "EINSTEIN" BY WALTER ISAACSON.

So Mitchell bullies Abbas into starting talks with Bibi. Easy to see how that one plays out. A: E J'sem is a core issue.... N: ... Sorry, J'sem is the united eternal capital of Israel and we are not prepared to discuss it A: The basis for the border must be the UN Green Line... N: ... UN, schmuen, we will never go back to the Green Line, we want all land up to the separation barrier plus the JV and E Jsem and we are not prepared to discuss it A: Some refugees will have to be permitted to return to Israel and... N: We are not prepared to discuss ROR, that is a matter for the PA to sort out N: Now, having got these out of the way, here are our demands... Negotiations are a non-starter because Israel has made it clear that it is not prepared to give ANYTHING back. It wants as much Pal land as it can possibly grab. How come the French, British, Russians, etc can see that clearly but Mitchell is ducking it? The Jewish vote in the USA is VERY small, what kind of chicken is he?

he obviously believes the fairy stories ! wake up tony the real world is out there if you go look for it !!

Don't let them bully you. Obama is demonstrating that he has no spine. And these reports are not credible, anyway.

If...as you contend...the US dropped the ball, it is only as a result of attempting to broker a peace between two parties totally uninterested in peace. You want to make the US responsible for achieving peace...I want to assign responsibility to Israel AND the Palestinians instead.

it has been a 20 lousy years of talking ,the settlers ruined it for you Guys . sorrrrrrrrry . prepare for the one state solution please . Abbas should resign and dissolve the PA . it is over . Plan B is 1967 line .. Abbas to Mitchel : don't call me ,i will call you .

Why does the US continue to be the mediator when little if anything gets resolved? Isn't it about time another go-between is found where bias isn't part of the equation. It is really never about Palestine but rather about the "other".

I have a nice suggestion to Mitchel for some 'confidence-building measures on the ground in the West Bank': What about a complete stop to all settlement expansion and starting to dismantle the first settlements on the way to the removal of them all? Oh, but I forgot, the US already caved in to Netanyahu. Mitchell is making a fool of himself.

abbas was in a corner.now hes in a jar.i mean how can the guy be credible to his people if he works against their interests.you know,of course that all these machinations make hamas stronger.they are not corrupt.salaam aleikum.

have you EVER taken a middle eastern history course? your lack of real factual knowledge is stunning.

Mitchell is a coward and a liar. What should be said is no more excuses from Israel, stop settlement building, preconditions and come to the negotiations table. But because he is bought and paid for in Tel Aviv, they might as well have sent Lieberman, because the Palestinians know that Mitchell is Netanyahu boot licker.

242 calls for complete withdrawal from all territories occupied by Israel in 67. There is no mention of land swaps, of Isreal keeping settlements, of "facts on the ground", of an undivided Jeruselem being the the "eternal capital" of anything. Plant all the trees you like. You will never have peace and security, or the respect of the rest of the world until you have returned what you have stolen.

How are you to negotiate land that has been taken away from you while the rest of the wrold watches????

You've had dozens of opportunities for a State. You had Ehud Barak offering the chance of a lifetime with 98% of the West Bank AND East Jerusalem. Still not good enough, huh. At least Hamas speaks the truth. They refuse to accept Israel AT ALL, claiming all the land. There is nothing to talk about here. Jews have no partners for peace, so Judea and Samaria are fair game for settlement. The onus is on the Arabs to decide when they want to play ball...

I'd like to know where all these liberal get this from. Most of the land, on both sides of the Jordan was state owned. There was very little private land. Since when did that change? Also, there is and never was anything ever called Palestinian occupied land. What is Palestine? Do you mean the Jewish residents who were called Palestinians while the Arabs were not? Do you mean the Land East of the Jordan? Even UN resolutions says lands occupied by Israel. There is no such thing and Palestinian occupied land. There was no such thing as an Arab Palestinian before the 60s. Stop warping facts. The reason there is no peace is because the Arabs have said NO for 100 years, no matter what Israel has dont for peace. This is 100% true, and it is the Arabs who have stolen, in some accounts 100 times the land area of Israel from native Jews throughout the Arab world. Giving up land doesnt equal peace. Thats appeasement. Time for the Arabs to ACT in peace. Gaza is example.

Abbas was committed to negotiating. Then Hillary made her proclamation about the great concessions Israel made on settlements, which was simply a pro-Israel statement. Then Obama attacked the Goldstone Report and humiliated Abbas in the process. The USA's actions demonstrated a pro-Israel bias. This was reinforced when Hillary tried to push through the Quartet a resolution recognizing the Israeli settlements. Fortunately Russia objected. The USA is not an impartial party. It would be well for Abbas to continue to cultivate support from the EU, the UN and Russia before starting negotiations. A viable, governable Palestine must be the goal.

"Abbas has done zip, nothing, nada, and bibi has gone to great lengths... " The only great lengths Bibi has gone to are great lengths to keep his coalition of the desperate intact and great lengths to avoid doing anything significant. A 10 month partial freeze on part of the occupied teritory isn't going to be a major chapter in the History of the Middle East, is it. Lucky if he gets a footnote for that really.

Those UN resolutions are meaningless. Arabs never recognized Partitions. You have to go back to League of Nations partition, where Arab Palestine is East of Jordan and Israel west of Jordan. Those Arabs residing West of Jordan River are occupiers. However, Israel has done the most it can for peace. Why dont the ARabs want to create another Arab Palestinian state? They have had almost 100 years for it. The blame is and should be on the Arabs for preventing peace for 100 years with Eurabian Appeasement!

Why do the Americans always come down on the side of the Israelis? The Americans and Blair cannot be trusted as impartial and neutral enabler of peace.

And bring in Hamas TV

The annexation of East Jerusalem was declared illegal by UNSC Resolution 252 (1968)of 21 May 1968 UNSC Resolution 267 (1969) of 3 July 1969 UNSC Resolution 271 (1969) of 15 September 1969, UNSC Resolution 298 (1971) of 25 September 1971, UNSC Resolution 465 (1980) of 1 March 1980, UNSC Resolution 476 (1980) of 30 June 1980

Mitchell says: "The time has come to stop finding excuses for avoiding a return to the negotiating table," ---------------- What a surprise! did bully Natanyahu agree to Freez all setttlements including East Jerusalem?

No israel, No Palestine. One State Solution is the best for all. One Man, One Vote, Equality for all inhabitants. Equal Pay for Equal Work, Equal Water Rights. No Apartheid, No Segregation...A Very True Secular Democrac Let us call it :?State of Holy Land?.

finally, the US is starting to do what it should have done from the start of barry o's inauguration: that is to say, place equal responsability on both parties to sit down toi talk. Abbas has done zip, nothing, nada, and bibi has gone to great lengths... why has abbas done nothing? because he wrongly thought that obamas mantra for "change" really was code for dropping support for israel. and while obama in my opinion has the wrong strategy, his notion of change was NOT to just dump israel, much as he may personally want to...

Who is living under siege ?? The Pals live under self-imposed siege, due to their terror actions. Israel owes them nothing, besides, all their hardships are self-imposed. They'd rather fire rockets at innocent Israelis than eat. SO BE IT. Just don't cry. They refuse to take action to improve their lives. Stay Frustrated !!

Let Israel set up their own office in Ramalah to issue passes, and start a campaign for he right to vote. This is a waste of time Abu Mazen's term has been extended, but he may still decide not to run again.

"Mitchell rejected out of hand French calls for an international conference and for U.S. guarantees to both Israel and the Palestinians." So, the US claim Abbas es stalling, but when other propositiones are given, that would reduce US control, they are instantly blocked by the US. HMMMM.....

First Obama said he vould make Israel freeze the settlement than he come back to his promise. Bibi doent give any promise for Palestiniana viable state. The ball is in Israel and Obama court. Stop citing!

What peace talks are they talking about! These are returns to the insult talks! There is no need to speak peace in the holy land now. It is better to wait 500 more years and let the future generations and the future population determine the timeless outcome!

This only means Israel could and should plant more trees, hey, afull forest from Jordan to the Med sea, may make Abass happy. Ok Israel it's alright to build, build, build...Thank you Abass....

in the emoty circle of negotiations for ever.....

an idiot does the same thing over and over again and expects a different result each time !!

renounce to the formula 2 states for 2 peoples. one state solution, one man one vote, all the rst is non sense. Equal civil and collective rights or segregation. Settlers missed the opprtunity for 2 state solution. Abbas give yr dimission.

Just get rolled out a couple of times a year for a photo-op while Bibi bulldozes his way through the West Bank. And after a few months, once you have totally convinced your people hat you are a quisling, you have the honor of getting hung from a lampost.

Of course it's always easier to blame the Palestinians for their so-called inaction rather than to hold Israel to account. Who the hell is under occupation here? Who is stealing Palestinian land on a regular basis and giving it to the settlers? Who is living under siege with no end to the oppression in sight? George Mitchell needs to find another hobby and find another cause because he and his American administration have failed at this one.

What is the World's obsession with this guy. He cried yesterday that he will quit unless blah, blah. Why does he constantly need to be PROPPED UP and strengthened. Mitchell correctly sees through this. He's a bum in a fancy suit. Exit the stage, Abbas, you are useless. Especially to your people.

Tcherkessi is right, Mitchell is in a completely different situation here and I don't think he realises it. The Northern Irish Catholics had British citizenship, had the vote and could live and travel wherever they wanted. All that was needed was to organise two referendums - One for Ireland to renounce its claim on Northern Ireland (Which in the ME, Jordan has already done) and one for the Northern Irish parties to accept the will of the people on sovreignity.(which of course in the ME, the Israelis would never accept.) There is no similarity with the situation with Israel.

What 'enthusiasm' are showing for peace in the 'middle east' ! Abbas has his own selfish reason to keep away from any 'peace agreement' For most palestinians he is a stooge and working only for fatah and the rest of the palestinians are the enemy that made him live in the exile of the west bank ! Time for the world to understand that the arabs talk not only in one language but of different languages to different people !

What part of NO does Mitchell understand?

has been, since the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt of 1978 UN Security Council Resolution 242. This resolution does not call upon the waring parties to set up an additional state in the region nor does the resolution mention concepts such as "Palestinian people", "Palestine" or "Palestinian state". On what basis therefore should the international community guarantee Abbas anything? It is time the various Arab parties in conflict with Israel, including those represented by Abbas, entered into good faith direct negotiations with Israel based on UN Security Council Resolution 242, as is. Not doing so is yet another indication of what their real long term goal is, and we, Israelis, are not blind...!!!

While I understand that Hamas may prefer a one state solution, and be happy to wait out the demographhic position where Arabs outnumber Jews, if Abbas wants a two state solution, then start talking now. The one condition I would insist on is that the talks are fully transparent and open. The world is likely to support a solution based on the 67 borders with only very minor land swaps of equal quality; with Jerusalem split/shared. Onus then on Israel and Hamas- and on the US to declare its position.

...the UK government and that of Israel are two very different things. Also the Irish - no friends of "Bloody Balfour" as they call him - had been treated badly but not in the barbaric way the Palestinians have. This also made things a lot easier for him there. America, as always, simply is not serious about peace.

He's supposed to negotiate, while Netanyahu is creating more "facts on the ground". It is not an "excuse" as, Mitchell sees it, but schizophrenia. The settlement freeze must be indefinite to render negotiations sane. So Israel has every right to demand a total halt to terrorism, planning terror and incitement both in the West Bank and Gaza. But Gaza is out of it, and cannot be dependent upon, otherwise it will hold veto power with missiles. Kouchner is right that both Abbas and Israel must be given international guarantees of recognition and where the long-dragged talks are heading.