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Israel Implements Goodwill Gestures, Palestinians Seen as Not Serious About Talks

(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - Top IDF officers on Sunday updated their Palestinian counterparts on the Israeli government's decision to implement a series of goodwill gestures aimed at easing restrictions on the Palestinians in the West Bank including the lifting of 60 roadblocks and opening roads and crossings. Israeli tour guides will also be permitted to take groups into Bethlehem and Jericho. Israeli officials, meanwhile, expressed irritation on Sunday at what one described as the Palestinians' "endless chatter" about the content of the indirect talks. "The way the Palestinians are talking publicly raises questions about how serious they are taking the talks," one official said. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told EU ambassadors on Sunday that while Israel entered the talks with a true desire to reach a comprehensive agreement with the Palestinians, there was a sense that the Palestinians were just going through the motions, hoping the indirect talks would fail so there would be no need for direct negotiations. What the Palestinians really wanted was for the international community to impose a solution.
2010-05-24 08:29:45
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