Colonies throw up new hurdle to direct talks

Ramallah: Thirteen thousand new housing units have been approved by the Israeli government, according to anti-colony group PEACE NOW.

The decision comes despite the Palestinian condition that a freeze on building Jewish colonies in the West Bank be extended past a September 26 deadline.

The announcement is likely to throw a wrench into the direct peace talks set to recommence in Sharm Al Shaikh today.

Other possibilities

According to a report in the Israeli daily, Haaretz, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at only a partial freeze during a meeting with Likud cabinet ministers on Sunday. "We will not agree to be dictated to that nothing will be built, but between 0 and 1 there are other possibilities," he said.

Several hours earlier, he told the cabinet that Palestinian recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people would be critical to reaching a peace agreement.

A senior Fatah official, who refused to be named, said that Netanyahu's latest demand has "never been raised in any previous round of negotiations" and it is just another roadblock to peace set by the Israelis. "The Israeli demand from the Palestinians to recognise Israel as a Jewish state is impossible to meet. The Israelis cannot ask the Palestinian leadership to harm millions of Palestinians living in historic Palestine and in the diaspora," he said.

Credibility crisis

The Palestinian National Authority is facing a credibility crisis that it will not likely survive if it continues peace talks after Israel refuses to halt colony expansion. "Nothing will justify it in the public's eyes. It's time to take the public opinion of the Palestinian street into account instead of political and financial pressure from the West," the official said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former senator George Mitchell, President Barack Obama's special envoy to the region, will be present during the talks today with Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Will Israel's refusal to halt colony expansion derail the current peace talks? What are the best options for the Palestinians at this point? What is the responsibility of the US during the peace talks?