Word: israells
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...Fatah organization. It has become conventional wisdom internationally that no credible peace process is possible without the consent of Hamas, with whom the Israelis have had to negotiate over a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit. The movement's leaders believe that Israel will cut a deal with Hamas to free Shalit and ease the blockade of Gaza because both sides stand to gain from such a deal, and neither much minds if that further weakens Abbas' authority. (Watch a video about Israel's lonesome doves...
Indeed, even though a mechanism for sharing Jerusalem has been one of the "final status" issues in the peace process since Oslo, Netanyahu on July 19 responded to U.S. pressure to halt a construction project in the eastern part of the city occupied by Israel in 1967 by insisting that Israeli control over Jerusalem is non-negotiable. It's not clear what Washington will accept. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who previously insisted that there could be no exceptions with a settlement freeze, was asked on July 16 to comment on reports of a compromise. She said she was "certainly...
...Obama and Clinton have lately stressed that the Administration is seeking new concessions from Arab states to reciprocate for an Israeli settlement freeze, but even Washington's key allies in the region appear reluctant to reward Israel for simply complying with its obligations under the "road map" to peace proposed by President George W. Bush in 2003. Skepticism abounds in Arab capitals over Netanyahu's commitment to Palestinian statehood - a principle he reluctantly and conditionally embraced under heavy pressure from Obama, and which many believe he has no intention of implementing. His latest comments on Jerusalem will reinforce that skepticism...
...believes it has the momentum at home and abroad. Just last week, it was revealed that Thomas Pickering, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., had met with Hamas leaders, though the Obama Administration continues to insist that it will not engage with Hamas until the organization renounces violence, recognizes Israel and abides by past agreements. (While Hamas has signaled a willingness to talk to the U.S. about finding a formula to coexist with Israel, it refuses to embrace terms that it deems a symbolic surrender...
...Administration is expected to move to the next phase despite the obvious lack of confidence of either side in the other. That would involve defining some sort of process of talks on a timetable aimed at resolving the key questions of where to draw borders between Israel and a state of Palestine, the terms of Palestinian sovereignty, how to share Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees. But both sides have been through such a process before and failed to conclude a deal. For many Middle East watchers, the key question will be whether Obama sets a deadline for such...