Word: palestinians
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Lucky Condoleezza Rice. After a round of bruising meetings in Russia, the Secretary of State was rewarded with a ticket to the Middle East and a mission to convince the region's leaders to come to Maryland next month to discuss the most bedeviling issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Her daunting to-do list includes: Secure the support and participation of Israelis, Palestinians and other Arabs skeptical of the purpose of the talks; Fashion an agenda that includes substantial discussion on topics that have flummoxed legions of diplomats, and which some of the participants would prefer to gloss over...
...week prior to Rice's arrival, Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon opined that Israel should consider dividing Jerusalem, giving Arab neighborhoods to a Palestinian state and possibly ceding control over the Temple Mount. Predictably, the notion - last floated at the end of 2000 as the outgoing President Clinton sought to save the Oslo peace process - inflamed Israeli right-wingers. Some key coalition partners threatened to bolt Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's governing coalition, and some religious leaders vowed to mobilize mass protests. But the difficulties that the Israelis will face in even discussing the sharing of Jerusalem - a Palestinian bottom...
...said "We have to be very careful ... about actions and statements that erode confidence." At the same time, however, Olmert's office announced it had received assurances that Rice would not push Israel to do "anything that will not be acceptable to it." That came as Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas were sparring over the need for and nature of a document addressing the contours of a possible solution, including "final statutes issues" such as Jerusalem, the fate of Palestinian refugees, security provisions, and the borders between Israel and a Palestinian state. Abbas wants a specific, binding document, while...
...Palestinian negotiators watched these developments with alarm. Rice later sought to reassure Abbas, telling him, "It is time for the establishment of a Palestinian state," and pledging that "we are not going to tire until I have given my last ounce of energy and my last moment in office" to that effort. But doubts linger about what she can deliver, and even about the wisdom of going to Annapolis when failure could cost Abbas what little support he has left...
...sure that the conference will take place because the Palestinian-Israeli differences are very deep," a Palestinian negotiator told TIME. He claims the Americans are not living up to previous assurances that there would a specific document, that some West Bank checkpoints would be lifted, and that settlement construction would be frozen, at least temporarily, to give Abbas political cover. (A State Department spokesman tells TIME that "Rice is considering a broad range of issues, including settlements," and that "the U.S. urges all parties to avoid actions that might prejudice final status negotiations...