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Israel and Palestine are headed back to the bargaining table — a development that world leaders have been working toward for nearly two years. Now, the media analyzes both the victory in getting the two sides to meet up, and the challenges that lie ahead.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the announcement Friday morning, saying talks will resume with the end goal of creating a Palestinian state and determining the status of Jerusalem. Big decisions that must be reached within a year after negotiations kick off.
Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu immediately agreed. The New York Times explains that one-year time limit may have persuaded a hesitant Palestine to join.
“The one-year time limit is viewed as crucial because the Palestinians are leery of being drawn into an open-ended negotiation...”
As for Israel, the Times writes, besides the time limit, the nation has rejected any preconditions.
“...including an extension of the government’s 10-month partial moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank, which is set to expire on Sept. 26.”
On MSNBC, Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk says Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas realized Israel was not going to completely halt the building of new settlements and had to compromise.
“I believe that Abu Mazen (another name for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas) came to understand over the last year that holding out for a complete settlements freeze was just holding up the process for getting negotiations. And I think Obama said to him when he was here recently, ‘Look I can help you, but the only way I can help you get what you want is if you enter into direct negotiations.’”
But according to a blogger for Jewish Week, Abbas was under a lot of pressure to head to the table.
“...Abbas was pressured by Washington and by some Arab states to accept direct talks; it's hard to imagine this master of delay and vacillation will now pursue progress in the talks with any enthusiasm...”
On Fox News, Major Garrett says the Palestinian movement is so divided that the big question is whether Abbas will have any bargaining power, even if he is ready to cut a deal.
Major Garrett: “Does Mahmoud Abbas the punitive leader of the Palestinian authority does he have the political clout to cut a deal with the Israelis when he has the Hamas faction controlling the Gaza strip and dominating in many case, certainly not all, but in many cases the internal political dynamic within the Palestinian movement.”
And according to Al Jazeera, the leader of the Hamas faction is not throwing his support behind the talks.
“He said ‘nothing has been achieved’ to warrant direct talks with Israel. [He] also said Palestinians should concentrate first on national reconciliation.”
France24 says, both Israel and Palestine will most likely look to the U.S. to build bridges, but the U.S. has made it clear the burden of compromise is on the feuding neighbors.
“Americans are also saying they are not the ones who are going to set up the agenda. Israeli and Palestinians themselves have to agree on what they will be able to discuss.”
The negotiations are set to kick off on September 2 at the U.S. State Department. Do you think anything major will come out of these latest peace talks?
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