'Palestinians' holding up freeze deal: They don't want to return to the table
The US isn't releasing a letter to Israel on the 'settlement freeze' extension because the 'Palestinians' won't agree to it. And note that it's NOT because of the freeze's terms.Palestinian refusal to return to the negotiating table even if a 90-day settlement freeze is in place has delayed the anticipated agreement between Israel and the US for a package of incentives in exchange for such a moratorium, The Jerusalem Post has learned from sources close to the issue.Bye-bye Barack!
As a result, there is no formal document to date which sets out the terms of the incentive package which was hammered out last Thursday in a day long meeting between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Labels: lost opportunity, Mahmoud Abbas
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:26 AM
2 Comments:
Netanyahu is seeing the fig leaf to extend the freeze vanish faster than ice cream melting on a cone on July. The entire rationale behind a freeze extension is to ward off renewed US pressure on Israel. And since the US won't give a written undertaking now not to apply it again in 3 months time, there is no good reason for Israel to extend the freeze.
And most of the Likud opposes it.
Netanyahu is the big loser in this: he looks like a boob for not securing written understandings from Clinton while he was in Washington and now American backtracking on oral promises he supposedly received has weakened rather strengthened his standing in his own party.
Here is a lesson: if you're going to trade away a solemn promise, make sure you get something that makes it worth it. And Bibi looks to voters like a guy who can't stick to his word when the pressure's on.
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