Who goes first? Talks stutter into life
DISAGREEMENTS OVER the agenda overshadowed the first round of a new series of peace talks launched this week in Washington.
However, the fact that both sides have committed to nine months of negotiations would have been almost unbelievable just a few weeks ago.
The argument is, of course, not new. The Palestinians insist that the talks focus first on the issue of borders, while Israel demands that security arrangements must take precedence. On that basis, it will be an uphill task keeping the talks on the road.
After more than four months and six trips to the region, US Secretary of State John Kerry acted swiftly once he had the agreement of both sides.
In a tense cabinet meeting on Sunday, the Israeli government voted to next week, a step that could derail the talks.
Since neither side has been willing to commit to the other side’s main conditions, the administration has persuaded both to make do for now with letters of assurance. Though these remain confidential, the letter to the PA is assumed to contain a US commitment to a territorial solution based on the pre-1967 borders and the letter to the Israeli government most likely reaffirms the US position that the Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state and renounce all further claims at the end of the negotiations.
The letters of assurance, however, will not be enough on their own to keep the sides at the table, especially because both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas are both under pressure at home to withdraw at the slightest provocation.