Word: arabism
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...Administration's latest attempt to kick-start Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations hit an unexpected setback after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during an Oct. 31 visit, praised as "unprecedented" Israel's efforts to limit construction of settlements on Palestinian-claimed land (above). The comment sparked an outcry from Arab leaders, who accused the Administration of backtracking on previous demands that Israel institute a complete freeze. Though Israelis have agreed to resume peace talks without preconditions, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to return to negotiations until all settlement construction is halted...
...American living in Israel described as a Jewish extremist was arrested and charged with a decade-long campaign of murder and violence against Arabs, gays and other groups. Israeli authorities said Yaakov (Jack) Teitel, 37, confessed to fatally shooting two Arabs in 1997 in retaliation for Palestinian suicide bombings. His alleged crimes also include stabbing and wounding an Arab man he believed had made a pass at him and bombing the homes of a left-wing professor and a family that belonged to a messianic Jewish sect; the professor and a 15-year-old boy were wounded...
...unprecedented," even though the U.S. still favored a total freeze. The most important thing, she added, was for the parties to get to the table as quickly as possible. The onus was back on the Palestinians - and the Palestinians quickly expressed outrage at the Obama Administration's retreat. Their Arab neighbors soon joined in, causing Clinton to backtrack two days later, telling reporters the Israeli plan "falls far short" of U.S. expectations, although she still insisted on calling it "unprecedented," which was neither diplomatic nor wise. (See pictures of Hillary Clinton behind the scenes...
...Asking the Arab states to accept Israel's offer to simply slow down construction in the West Bank and its refusal to stop building and demolishing Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem - after Obama publicly and repeatedly demanded it - has battered the Administration's credibility in Arab capitals. And Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated on Monday his refusal to heed Washington's call to begin negotiating with Netanyahu in the absence of a settlement freeze. Abbas has promised his public and his Fatah movement, which is deeply skeptical of the prospects for dealing with Israel's hawkish government, that...
...With Netanyahu's settlement-freeze defiance having demonstrated the limits of the Administration's ability to sway the Israeli government, Obama now faces the uncomfortable reality that this has also accelerated the decline of U.S. influence with the Arab states and mainstream Palestinian moderates. Having made resolving the Middle East's most intractable conflict a top foreign policy priority, the Administration now needs the symbolic resumption of talks simply to signal progress. The message from the White House to both sides over the past week has emphasized the urgency of doing that. Unfortunately, given the gulf between the demands...