Word: fatefulness
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...reopening of talks without preconditions on an agenda the two sides would determine in discussions. But Abbas insisted that any talks would be based on the full range of final-status issues established by previous agreements - Netanyahu has publicly ruled out negotiating on two of those issues, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem, which both sides claim as their capital. (See pictures of life in a West Bank settlement...
...Levy believes that the Administration's pivot on the issue smartly boxed Netanyahu into a negotiating process the Israeli leader would have preferred to avoid, by turning his own argument against him: if, as Netanyahu insists, settlements should be an issue for negotiation rather than a precondition because their fate will depend on future borders, then why not move straight to final-status negotiations over those borders...
Abbas has refused to relaunch negotiations with the Israelis until they agree to the freeze on construction on land conquered in 1967 - as Obama has demanded - and agree to negotiate on all final-status issues, including sharing Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees. Netanyahu's government has offered only a partial settlement freeze and refuses to negotiate over Jerusalem or refugees. So while Abbas will glumly show up in New York City, he has no intention of relaunching negotiations on the terms currently on offer. "The Americans have failed to convince the Israelis to halt settlement, and now they...
...such a freeze and then being rebuffed by Netanyahu, Obama finds himself trying to imagine a peace process between two leaders whose visions of peace are incompatible with those of their counterparts. The fact that they'll still show up when Obama calls is simply a reminder that the fate of the peace process may rest largely in the White House - and the extent to which the U.S. wants an agreement more than the parties themselves...
CLIMATE CHANGE The House passed a controversial cap-and-trade emissions plan in June. Its fate in the Senate is uncertain...