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
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.
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
Talking about direct talks: Netanyahu returns to the White House
US president Barack Obama will use a White House meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push for an extended West Bank settlement freeze. If Netanyahu doesn't offer one - and the domestic politics are quite difficult for him - it's hard to see any possibility of direct talks with the Palestinian Authority later this year.
The president's decision to nominate Gen. David Petraeus as the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan won't mean a major change in strategy. But there are mounting reasons for pessimism about current policy, particularly the relentless focus on southern Afghanistan. The deployment of tens of thousands of additional troops to Kandahar and Helmand serves few NATO objectives.
Freedom Flotilla Killings
Anticlimax: How much did the flotilla raid really change regional politics?
It has accelerated Israel's isolation from several of its neighbors and allies; it has sharpened divisions within Turkish domestic politics; it has deepened perceptions that the Obama administration as too close to Israel. And it seems to have had a remarkably minor impact on Palestinian domestic politics.
- Third World Goes Forth commented on Obama's southern strategy
- Clif Brown commented on Likud votes to restart West Bank settlements
- Wilford Mcgirt commented on Mubarak's successor: Suleiman?
- Liam1306 commented on Eikenberry wants an off-ramp
- KMansfield commented on Fethullah Gulen and the Ergenekon plot
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