...and the music grinds to a halt...
In my OP above, it was Netanyahu's position on freezing Isreal's construction of new settlements
that seemed to be the key in what
could happen during the Israelis / Palastinian talks.
Now we see that Netanyahu and the Israeli cabinet are either "unwilling or unable"
And once again, Sec of State Clinton comes up looking competent, albeit frustrated.
NY Times
U.S. Drops Bid to Sway Israel on Settlements
By MARK LANDLER
Published: December 7, 2010
Quote:
After three weeks of fruitless haggling with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
the Obama administration has given up its effort to persuade the Israeli government
to freeze construction of Jewish settlements for 90 days,
a senior administration official said Tuesday.
The decision leaves Middle East peace talks in flux,
with the Palestinians refusing to resume direct negotiations absent a moratorium,
and the United States struggling to find another formula to bring them back to the table.
It is another setback in what has proved to be a star-crossed campaign by President Obama.
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Quote:
Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians issued a response to the news.
But administration officials said the United States made the decision
after consultations between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Netanyahu.
The two had hammered out the agreement on a 90-day freeze,
which Mr. Netanyahu later said he could not sell to his cabinet
without written security assurances from the Americans.
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Quote:
A preview of the administration’s next move could come in an address on Middle East policy
that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to deliver on Friday at the Brookings Institution.
But the administration’s strategy appeared to be unsettled.
For now, the administration will revert to brokering indirect talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.
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