Word: rabin
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That strategy makes Palestinian negotiators anxious. They must show tangible results quickly to fend off fundamentalist opponents, yet must satisfy multiple constituencies -- factions in the territories and the Palestine Liberation Organization, Palestinians in camps and abroad -- before they can make any concessions. Publicly, their negotiators professed disdain for Rabin's speech, exaggerating its tough elements and ignoring its invitations for cooperation...
...Palestinians rightly seek deeds from Rabin as well as words, but in fact his words caught the peace delegation off guard. They are not accustomed to Israel's setting the pace for substantive talks. They must now take seriously Rabin's campaign promise to complete the arrangements for Palestinian autonomy in nine months, and they are not ready. They lack a coherent negotiating strategy, a clear chain of command, qualified technical advisers, even a unified set of position papers. "We are a bunch of academics and politicians who are not qualified to run technical negotiations," admits a team member. Meanwhile...
...trying to settle one issue at a time before moving to the next. They could draft an agreement in principle on the transfer of power to an interim government in the territories, then let working groups spell out the specifics. Palestinian negotiators would like this approach, and anticipate that Rabin's basic proposal for autonomy will be, in spokeswoman Hanan Mikhail-Ashrawi's words, "much more comprehensive and serious" than Shamir's. But they are looking first for some tangible gestures to set the right tone: a complete brake on settlements and an end to harsh occupation rules...
Israel's Arab neighbors are also struggling to respond. Although no Arab leader from a confrontation state has publicly praised Rabin's pledge to speed negotiations, or accepted his call to an immediate summit, Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak invited the Prime Minister to Cairo this week to encourage and reward Israel's moderation. Deep political divisions in the Arab world, sharpened by Jordan's decision to side with Saddam Hussein in the gulf war, are responsible for the limp response; Arab leaders do not trust one another and need time to grope toward a common approach to the Rabin...
Syria faces a particularly delicate balancing act. Rabin's strategy of focusing first on a Palestinian settlement irritates President Hafez Assad, who is skeptical about ever achieving peace with Israel and is determined that no Arab party should conclude a separate deal. Even if Damascus-Jerusalem talks do proceed, Rabin has taken a very tough line on returning the Golan Heights, captured in the 1967 war. Yet without Moscow as a patron, Assad has little choice but to renounce his traditional role of spoiler and board the peace train if he wants access to Western trade and investment...