Word: settlements
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Peaceable Neighbors Thank you for drawing attention to the talks between Turkey and Armenia "that could reopen their border" [Sept. 21]. I wish them well. As an Anglo-Armenian I look forward to a just settlement for the atrocities committed around 1915. Similarly I would welcome accession of both Armenia and Turkey to the E.U. - subject to certain conditions. One of which must be an end to "almost a century of animosity between the two countries." My only quibble is your comment that "Armenians say 1.5 million were killed in a genocide" and that "the massacre of hundreds of thousands...
...there's the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors, that hardy perennial that has inspired at least four previous Nobel Peace Prize awards. President Obama has little to show for making Mideast peace a foreign policy priority. Israel has bluntly rejected his demand for a complete freeze on settlement activity, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to negotiate over Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees despite Obama having named these among the final-status issues on which he hopes to revive talks this month. Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas is prevaricating on talks, mindful of his growing marginalization in Palestinian political...
...Cairo speech gave as much respect to Palestinian grievances and aspirations as to the Israeli perspective. Still, the Arab and Muslim worlds are waiting for Obama to deliver on those expectations. And they have been disappointed by the President's backing down from the demand that Israeli halt all settlement activity on territory conquered in 1967. That disappointment was compounded last week when Washington leaned on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to squelch efforts to get the Security Council to act on a U.N. report that accused Israel (and Hamas) of committing war crimes during January's fighting in Gaza...
...their part, Israelis are wary that they will be asked to pay a price for America's foreign-policy blunders in Iraq and Afghanistan, in the form of a regional settlement unfavorable to the Jewish state. Some polls show that only 4% of Israelis think Obama is "pro-Israeli." Bucking the trend of Israeli leaders' avoidance of confrontations with the White House, Netanyahu has seen his popularity spike as a result of his defiance of U.S. demands for a complete settlement freeze...
...wooing Syria away from Iran will be no easy matter. Syrian officials have long said they would be open to a regional peace if Israel returned occupied Syrian land in the Golan Heights and offered a just settlement to the Palestinian question. But they have also maintained their right to continue Syria's relationship with Iran and support for Hamas and Hizballah, just as the U.S. arms and supports Israel...