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Israel Will Never Walk Away from Negotiations


(Commentary) Jonathan S. Tobin - The Middle East peace process isn't quite dead yet. Talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are still taking place. Nevertheless, the Palestinians haven't really budged an inch on any substantive issue since the talks re-started last year. They have already demonstrated that they are only interested in forcing Israel to pay for their presence at the table with concessions like the release of terrorist murderers or building freezes in the West Bank or even Jerusalem. But if the Palestinians do keep talking after April, there's no doubt that the Israelis will be there too. Prime Minister Netanyahu understands that Israel must never walk away from negotiations no matter how futile they are. If Netanyahu is, despite everything, going to keep showing up every time the Americans beckon, it's because he has the unpleasant task of managing a conflict that can't be solved by peace or war. Though President Obama and Kerry laud Abbas as a man of peace, his unwillingness to speak of an end of the conflict indicates that he is no more willing to compromise and accept the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders were drawn than Arafat was.
2014-04-11 00:00:00
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