Palestinians pin hopes on upcoming talks

Ramallah: Palestinians have said they hope their current leadership will be able to bring them peace and security as they believe the upcoming negotiations are the last shot at ending the occupation and resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"It is a lifetime dream and the dream of our fathers to have a country of our own and to run our daily lives without any interference from the Israelis who control and supervise our lives to the very smallest detail," said taxi driver Essam Emmad Al Dine.

"We really want peace..but the problem lies with the Israelis who do not want peace..When I travel through the West Bank, the idea of taking away or demolishing any of the spreading city-like settlements [colonies] does not even cross my mind and so I never buy the idea the Israelis are interested in peace.. The settlements are real cities enjoying full infrastructure and services with huge communities fully armed in addition to around-the-clock protection from the Israeli army."

Nael Zahran, another Palestinian who worked for years in Israel, believes the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) should not trust Israel as the last thing this country thinks of is peace.

"The Palestinians are very familiar with the Israelis and know their way of thinking and out of this experience, the Palestinians can easily judge that the upcoming negotiations are yet another failure and will never bear any fruit."

The propaganda which has accompanied the resumption of the direct talks gives a ray of hope of a minor possible change in the Israeli attitude and so we will wait, follow up and see although we are almost sure of the outcome in advance he said.

The amending of requirements and conditions by Palestinians before resuming direct talks is further proof of the Palestinian desire for peace, he said.

Mohammad Sa'adi, 55, a grocery store owner said: "The Palestinians should insist on their basic rights and never accept any compromises where the concessions that have already been provided are more than enough."

Sa'adi, 55, said since his childhood he has been hearing about the importance of security issues for the Israelis but nobody has ever spoken about the importance of security for the Palestinians who are in more need.

"The Palestinians should be satisfied as much as the Israelis in the negotiations to reach a fair and lasting peace," he added.