Israel National News spoke with people on “both sides of the street" and discovered almost everyone thinks direct talks will start in a blind alley and end up in a dead end.
There already are strong doubts from both Israeli and Palestinian Authority leaders whether the direct talks, announced on Friday by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will even take place as scheduled next week in
The single voice of optimism was expressed by
No one else interviewed agrees. Kibbutz Ein Gedi date tree farmer Yehuda Cohen, who said he always has voted for the Labor party, told Israel National News, “They [the PA] will not talk—they always find another reason not to speak with us."
He explained that Arab leaders know that if they wait long enough, the combination of a growing Arab population in Judea and
Chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat bore out Cohen’s statement Sunday, insisting that the PA will not recognize
Kibbutz Ein Gedi is located within the 1949 borders that were changed in 1967 during the Six-Day War. Cohen, who has decidedly leftist views concerning Judea and
Like everyone else interviewed, except for Adar, he said, “I don't believe there is chance” that the talks will succeed.
Hevron Hills Regional Council Chairman Tzviki Bar-Chai commented, “I am not a prophet” but nevertheless believes the negotiations will turn out fruitless. “It is more important for Israeli leaders to examine how to proceed in any talks only after they examine what will come out of any discussions, which could lead to more expulsions and a false peace.”
A southern
Reserve IDF Colonel Moshe Hagar (pictured), who is on Sabbatical as head of the
Ginot Shomron resident “Fruma” echoed a frequent sound of frustration with the “political process.” She told Israel National News, “I have lost interest in what goes on. I cannot see any talks with any of them doing any good. It is going to blow up in everyone’s face anyway. I think it is stupid.
And what about the opinion of Yaniv Adar of Arad, who thinks it is better to talk than fight? To that Fruma replies, “It could help—but it could hurt, and I am not willing to take those kind of risks."
The Arab side is no more optimistic. Reuters surveyed “the man on the street” and concluded there is “little hope among Palestinians who say the prospect of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel seems no more than a dream.”
"Peace process? What peace process? That's so nineties. After 18 years, don't they feel silly?" Ahmad Aweidah, head of the Palestinian stock exchange, told the news agency. "There are only two scenarios. The optimistic one is more of the same. The pessimistic one is it's going to get worse."
The Arab population in Judea and
Reuters quoted 30-year old Luay Kabbah, who was still at school when PA and Israeli leaders first began talking peace in 1991, "There has been a lot of talk of peace, but we have seen no results. We no longer have hope.”