Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is considering George Mitchell's offer for "proximity talks" with Israel, and plans to issue a final response on Thursday, according to an interview with The Guardian.
Uzi Arad - Tag Search
Peace Processing
Abbas considering indirect talks with Israel
Nuclear Negotiations
IAEA draft: The view from Israel
Like I said earlier, Uzi Arad asked Israeli officials to kindly shut up, so we won't hear an official Israeli government response for a few days.
But I am curious how this agreement is being perceived in Israel. I talked with a couple of Israeli friends, both of whom think Iran is just playing for time here -- dragging out the negotiations, not making any substantive concessions, using the extra time to conduct research.
Nuclear Negotiations
IAEA draft: Mixed reactions from Tehran
Mohammad Reza Bahonar, Iran's deputy parliament speaker, told Iran's official IRNA news agency that Iran "doesn't accept" yesterday's draft deal with the IAEA.
Discouraging -- but Bahonar doesn't speak for the government, so we shouldn't read too much into a single statement from a single official.


Peace Processing
Biden arrives in Israel amid serious Palestinian doubts
As Joe Biden lands in Israel, the Israeli government -- obviously keen to demonstrate that it's serious about restarting peace talks -- announced Monday that it will violate its West Bank settlement freeze and build 112 new homes in Beitar Illit, a settlement west of Bethlehem.
A handful of insurgent attacks around the country killed two dozen people, but Iraqi security forces seemed generally confident; the vehicle ban in Baghdad, scheduled to last all day, was lifted before noon. Anecdotal reports suggest a strong turnout across the country.
Iraq's campaign season wrapped up today, 48 hours ahead of the election, as soldiers and medical personnel voted early. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and police will be on duty Sunday for the general election, when millions of Iraqis will vote at some 10,00 polling centers around the country (and abroad).



