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Rhetoric and Reality

(London Times/BICOM) Editorial - The reaction to George W. Bush's meeting with Ariel Sharon in Washington has overwhelmed its substance. The Palestinian leadership, supplemented by a wider chorus of the EU, the UN, and the Arab world, has chosen to present what is largely a public recognition of political realities as a radical revision of American foreign policy. The idea that the peace process in the Middle East is now dead is ridiculous. In truth, an overdue opportunity for hard and serious bargaining might finally be opened. Mr. Bush's supposed "concessions" on the principle of Israel's retaining settlements on the West Bank and overt rejection of the sweeping "right of return" for Palestinians to where they might have been located in 1948 are hardly as dramatic as painted. It has long been obvious to those involved in the diplomacy of the Middle East that it was implausible to expect Israel to abandon every outpost in the West Bank or to welcome perhaps three million Palestinian exiles within its borders.
2004-04-16 00:00:00
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