Palestinian-Israeli status quo to continue

A Palestinian protester confronts Israeli soldiers during a demonstration against the Israel's separation wall in the West Bank village of Al-Walaja, near Bethlehem, August 4, 2010. Photo: Xinhua

Media reports on Friday, fuelled by a letter from European Union foreign policy head Catherine Ashton, suggest that the Palestinians are about ready to agree to face-to-face talks with Israel, and that announcement from the Palestinians could come as soon as Sunday.

There are even some claims that negotiations may even begin next week. However, contradicting reports could be also seen in recent days saying the two sides were setting fresh conditions for the talks.

The Israeli media said the Palestinians had framed reformatted conditions for the talks -- that they begin after Israel agrees to a return to the pre-1967 War borders -- and that Israel had rejected them. The Palestinians said their latest proposal was based on terms of reference set by the international peace Quartet, the current sponsor of the peace process.

The main player in the Quartet is the United States, but it also includes the EU, the United Nations and Russia.

However, Israel says this is just another instance where the Palestinians are changing the goalposts and setting preconditions for a return to direct talks after a hiatus of almost two years.

For their part, the Palestinians maintain Israel has also set numerous preconditions since the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama began its attempt to resuscitate the peace process last year.

The latest to-ing and fro-ing between the Palestinians and Israelis will no doubt be the cause for further frustration for U. S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell and his team. For much of this calendar year, he has been commuting between Washington, Jerusalem and Ramallah, initially to persuade the sides to enter indirect parley, and, with that achieved, more recently to commit to direct talks.

The Arab world has also been trying to bridge the divide with Cairo proving a focal point for regional and international leaders. It is felt that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak may hold greater sway over the Palestinians than anyone else.

JUST PLAYING A GAME

"Perhaps both the Palestinians and Israelis simply do not want to enter peace talks and they are simply playing a game in blaming one another for the impasses." This idea is put forward separately by political scientists Mohammed Dajani, the founder of the Islamic organization Wasatia Palestine, and Ira Sharkansky of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The Palestinians and Israelis seem to be interested in letting the status quo run on, perhaps even indefinitely, according to the analysts.

"They have to lose in that things could get worse on the ground, " said Sharkansky in trying to explain why the pair are balking at the prospect of peace talks.

"The Palestinians believe there will be no productivity at the end. They think the Israeli government is not ready to make a deal or have fruitful negotiations. The same is true for the Israelis," Dajani said on Friday.

As a result, the leaders on either side of the barrier are playing their roles in a protracted play, to a large extent in order to keep the international community at bay.