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Beyond September: Lessons from Failed Mideast Diplomacy
(Crown Center for Middle East Studies-Brandeis University) Shai Feldman - The U.S. needs to decide whether to focus on the convening and facilitating of permanent status negotiations or on attempting to achieve some interim agreement. The U.S. should avoid spending its limited time and energy on attempting to improve the environment for such talks. Palestinians should understand that no one has a greater interest in a negotiated resolution of the conflict than they do. Accordingly, it is never in the Palestinians' interest to attach preconditions to the convening of such negotiations. The PA must avoid creating confusion regarding its basic objectives. If its strategic goal is to conclude an agreement with the Jewish state rather than attempting to replace it in some fashion, then it cannot enter into a partnership with Hamas unless it is made crystal clear that Hamas has come around to the PA's approach to negotiations - which would entail Hamas' recognition of Israel, renunciation of violence, and acceptance of all previous PLO-Israel and PA-Israel agreements. A partnership with Hamas that is not seen as based on these principles will inevitably raise doubts as to the PA's true intentions and give credence to suspicions that it views an agreement with Israel as only a stepping stone to future efforts to destroy the Jewish state. The writer is Director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies and Professor of Politics at Brandeis University.