Israel Matzav

'Palestinians' seethe, Israelis satisfied over Indyk's absence

The 'Palestinians' are seething at US facilitator Martin Indyk's exclusion from the 'peace talks' that are taking place in Israel, but the Israelis, who were never happy with Indyk's role, are quite pleased with his absence.

An Israeli source noted that the Palestinians are claiming that Indyk should be actively involved in talks and should be sitting at the negotiating table. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who met with Indyk this week, asked him to be more involved. "The U.S. role shouldn't be limited to supervision," Abbas told Indyk.

The Israelis, on the other hand, expressed reservations about Indyk's active involvement, claiming that these are direct, bilateral negotiations. According to the Israeli position, the presence of an American representative will only impede the talks and lead Palestinians to harden their positions. Israel is willing that Indyk participate in some of the meetings, but only if both sides consent.

Indyk's involvement and impact in the last three rounds of talks has been negligible. During the first round in Washington three weeks ago, Indyk was present at some of the meetings, but was not involved in the last two held last week in Jerusalem. On Tuesday, Indyk did not participate, in spite of the fact that he has been in Israel for the last 10 days. He has been spending his time in separate meetings with Israelis and Palestinians.

No, we really don't need Indyk at the table. If the 'Palestinians' can't talk to us directly, how do they think they're going to live in peace with us?

Labels: Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, direct talks, Martin Indyk, Middle East peace process

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:34 PM