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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/world/middleeast/15mideast.html
A 90-Day Bet on Mideast Talks
(New York Times) Ethan Bronner and Mark Landler - The pledge by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to push for a new, one-time-only freeze of 90 days on settlement construction in the West Bank represents a bet by the Israelis and the Americans that enough can be accomplished so that the Palestinians will not abandon peace talks even after the freeze ends. Both Israeli and American officials said that final borders could not be negotiated in three months, but Obama administration officials said they believed that the Israelis and Palestinians could make enough progress on the contours of a Palestinian state to largely set aside the dispute over settlements. The West Bank is the heartland of much Jewish history, so for many Israelis, giving it up is a painful prospect and should come only as part of a comprehensive deal including Palestinian recognition of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.