Will they miss again?

A disingenious column. Abbas is being played as the fool he is so Netanyahu and Obama will be home free politically speaking. In real situations, what matters is the substance and not the method. In this contrived process aka "peace-process" it is all about the theatrics. It seems Yoel is out of ideas, so he rehashs a few cliches and calls it an "opinion piece". Makes you want to have a job as a commentator on Middle East Peace Process. All you have to do is rehash a few paragraphs while changing some names of places and faces. Would love a job like that myself, I need more free time.

If Netanyahu can't keep the settlement freeze in place... How in the heck will he be able to get a peace deal approved? Face it, Netanyahu has been nothing but smoke and mirrors when dealing with the Palestinians towards a lasting peace. I don't expect that to change any time soon. Even the the Freeze you can write off as Bibi wanting to please the new guy in the white house even as he saves some money during a near crash of the world economy. Lets see if he can do a two year freeze, then you might be right about him wanting peace.

The Palestinians have never had an offer that gives them even a semblance of a state. You cant miss what you never had...an opportunity

A. feels personal animosity toward N. and will avoid meeting, hands shaking, etc. just because for him this a betrayal of Palestinian cause. One of them will go .

...This is a recording.

What's to negotiate? Israel is building on "occupied" land. Yes, you would negotiate with a man with a gun at your head. Many good Jews know that and are appalled by the occupation. The simple matter of fact is the Zionist are going to pursue their goal of taking Judea and Samaria or the Palestinians are going to role over and play dead. Is a war inevitable? It would seem so. As a Christian, I see all people equally, not some more equal than others. As it is, Israel is factioned prisons. The Jews are as much in prisons as the Palestinians they put there. It's sad. By and large Muslims and Jews make the Ten Commandments part of their religion and neither of them follow them. To be fair, by and large Christians don't either. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Humanity could learn from the earth worm.

Peace!!!!

Because there is no settlement "freeze" - it's a complete fraud. Israelis want Palestinians to respond to an empty, meaningless gesture.

Or are you just a mouthpiece of propaganda? Which you obviously are. The Palestinians have the right according to international law and international consensus to the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem as their capital. If they are wise, they will NEVER give up their rights. Not to your arrogant perceived Jewish supremacy and brainwashed logic of Zionism. You cannot talk about peace if you are stealing land at the same time!

Netanyahu is just playing for time. He wants to retain the status quo and continue to expand the settlements, thus destroying the basis for a contiguous Palestinian state. How can anyone expect the Palestinians to agree to talks while facts on the ground are being established ?

It ia easy...as allways they expect win the next war and don´t have any agreemends...and so on

He wants to know that the Palestinians will be allowed more land. Anyone looking at the map will see how much land Israel has built on. Just share out to the people who let you share their land and really SHARE.

One can repeatedly recall palestinians' missing opportunities. But now in fact, the point at issue is that Israel's right including likud wants far more territories and settlements than peace.

One can repeatedly recall palestinians' missing opportunities. But now in fact, the point at issue is that Israel's right including likud wants far more territories and settlements than peace.

Blaming the Natives for not accepting subjugation shows the delusional thinking of the Jews, a minority of a few million in a sea of tens of millions. Jews must start planning for minority rights for themselves in Palestine Israel, such as a constitution, bill of rights, separation of church and state, rule of law.

The gist of Marcus' 'analysis' is the same meaningless statement that 'the Palestinians never miss,,, yada,yada, yada". This just cannot do anymore. During the 9 months 'freeze' period, Netanyahu in word and deed convinced the Palestinians that the 1967 borders will never become the basis for reaching a lasting settlement. The 'indirect ' negotiations reached an impasse, and 'direct' negotiations cannot succeed where the 'indirect' failed. Unless there is a unanimous a-priori agreement on the parameters of the agreement, leaving the negotiations to deal with the details, and the devil is always in the details, the impasse will continue.

that the U.S. administration will further make additional impositions on Israel such as the 10 month settlement construction freeze or other dramatic gestures before the direct talks. There's no reason not to enter diplomatic talks, as in fact, there's very little difference between PM Netanyahu and former PM Ehud Olmert, who willingly negotiated a reasonably close peace agreement to the liking of President Abbas and his negotiating team. Further delay won't press the U.S. against Israel - it's closest ally in the Middle East. And what does President Abbas say about Hamas and IJ's uncompromising nonacceptance of any peace agreement between Israel and the PA?

But in fact what they ask is reasonable--honor commitments under the road map--as they are. If Israel wont even enforce its own law against illegal settlements how will it evacuate settlements as part of a peace plan--especially in East Jeruselem.

He knows that at the end of the discussions, the issue of Jerusalem will come up. Both parties will have to make concessions. Honestly, I think it is frightening to know you are in for these deals, when one and a half Billion Muslims are looking over your shoulders. And they might do more than send emails. Netanyahu will also have to make painful decisions, and after Rabin's murder, we cannot say Israel is exempt from political terror. So longs as talks are on side issues, like other towns, or general day by day life procedures, are concerned, I think they are apt for it. But I doubt whether either of them has the necessary clout to concede part of Historical Jerusalem, and close a deal, although I'll be happy to be wrong here. Probably both leaders will cooperate in dragging their feet as far as final agreements are finalized, and move on more mundane practical issues, which will enable both peoples to start to cooperate economically. This by itself would be a great progress.

next article,please tell us what YOU really want.

The first thing to realize is that Israel and America are enemies of the Palestinians. Israel has systematically stripped them of their land, their rights, and their dignity. America gives Israel billions of dollars in weapons every year. Now America and Israel hold a ticking clock to the Palestinians and say, you must talk to us now and take our deal or else! You must do as we say or there will be serious consequences. This is the same deal that Germany gave to Czechoslovakia in 1938 just before stealing their land.

Yes, what difference will more settlements make? How will peace chances be impacted if another 1000 settlers move into the West Bank? Maybe another 2000? 3000? 5000? After all, the number of settlements doubled in the 90s, and that brought everyone closer to peace? Maybe if another 1,000,000 settlers move in, peace will break out the next day... But it doesn't look likely, does it?

The Palestinians could have had their own state years ago and prospered along with Israel. It's clear racism rules, not pragmatism. Pathetic indeed.

the problem with the PLO is that they are a welfare organization, dependent on the subsidy of real people, and like all welfare recipients, they resent their benefactors, and will only do what is on the best interests, when the welfare is cut off. Cut off their funds, and the limo entourages that they dont have to pay for, and you will see how fast they "grow up"

As an outside observer it seems logical that they are not interested in direct talks. As the international community is, albeit slowly, realising that it looks each time a little more similar to an apartheit state. So time is really on their side at the moment.

We should have learned by heart, by now: The US will pressure everyone to adopt a process not to force them to reach conclusions. That there is no world body capable of imposing a solution., not the US, not the quartet, not the UN or the EU. All these parties can help but they can not accomplish for us what we fail to accomplish for ourselves. All this beating around the bush, delaying the inevitable -talks; is meaningless. Israel and the Palestinians must sit together and do for themselves what no other party can.

It's pretty simple, really: if Abbas enters direct negotiations WITHOUT extracting that committment from the Israelis then he will have a gun held to his head i.e. if the talks starts to turn against Israel then Bibi can shut them down by simply gesture to Yishai; the Interior Minister will then waddle into the tent and drop a huge turd on the carpet. Result: the talks collapse **and** Bibi will smirk and claim that it was the Pals, not him, who walked. Who needs that sort of aggrevation? Certainly not Abbas, who is already in a position of weakness.

simply because they want to miss, simply because they don't want to have the "two-states-for-two-peoples"-solution but the "one-palestinian-state-instead-of-israel"-solution.

if its their Karma whose to criticize it? we should negotiate or try to and try very hard and if all fails.. its their karma not ours

In other words, Israel should give up all the land and THEN have no leverage to negotiate the problem of the refugees, none of whom should return to Israel proper!

And even then it was nothing definite and Olmert was already out the door for all intents and purposes.

A commitment to peace negotiations and a viable Palestinian state? Sweet talk that pleases the international community, and the Obama administration, and buys him time. Meanwhile almost everything he and his coalition are doing indicates a concerted effort to undermine the prospects of his rhetoric with facts on the ground and provocation - continued building of settlement infrastructure, rights violations, crackdowns on peaceful demonstrations, harassment of activists, continuing illicit land acquistion, forceful expulsion from the WB of Palestinians without an "Israeli" issued ID, preventing those living/studying/working abroad from returning...and the list goes on. Yes indeed, the Palestinians hear his words...but they can also SEE - first hand - what's transpiring. One thing to attempt to fool the international community - quite another to fool those who 'experience' the realities of behind the facade. And a 10 month(partial), building freeze in the settlements(conveniently timed to expire just before the November elections in the U.S.), the announcement of which included the declaration of their full resumption once it expires? Sounds more like a temporary appeasement meant to buy time, if you ask me. It's nothing but a 'come on' to enter negotiations that Netanyahu has NO intention of allowing to bear fruition for the Palestinians. Do you really expect the them NOT to see through something as transparent as this? So why not a complete and indefinite freeze with their resumption pending(and dependent upon), the outcome of negotiations?(the answer is obvious). They're holding out for more? More of WHAT? The same old Israeli crap they've been fed for decades? No doubt they've grown tired of its taste. They've gotten NOTHING from Bibi except a hastily devised facade of words with absolutely nothing to suggest they're of any substance. If Bibi WAS committed like he 'claims', so much of what is going on wouldn't be, and so much of what ISN'T would be - and the bottom line is that if his commitment was 'real', there'd be no problem with picking up negotiations from where they left off with Olmert.

His strategy runs against him. With Congress elections in America aproximating and the build up against Iran, it is impossible that Obama will take a stand against Israel.