(Washington Post) David Ignatius - The Palestinian side agreed Friday to come to the talks based on a statement of principles that was issued by the Quartet. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, is responding to the invitation issued by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, without endorsing any terms of reference. Indeed, Netanyahu is said to have explicitly rejected the language of the Quartet statement as a framing document. It's a classic piece of diplomacy: One side is responding to one letter of invitation; the other is responding to a subtly different request. It's a finesse that has succeeded in getting both to the table, but it also highlights the huge differences that exist between the two sides. If it was this hard to get people to agree to come to the table, that surely doesn't bode well for the larger issues that need to be resolved.
2010-08-23 08:19:48Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive