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Leave out the main players = unsuccessful outcome

Ali Abunimah is not only the author of “One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse", but also the editor of and commentator in the much-respected Electronic Intifada.

With the upcoming so-called resumed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, in an op-ed piece "Hamas, the I.R.A. and Us" in The New York Times, he examines why the failure to include Hamas in the discussions is most likely to doom the talks.

"George J. Mitchell, the United States Middle East envoy, tried to counter low expectations for renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations by harking back to his experience as a mediator in Northern Ireland.

At an Aug. 20 news conference with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, announcing the talks that will begin this week, Mr. Mitchell reminded journalists that during difficult negotiations in Northern Ireland, “We had about 700 days of failure and one day of success” — the day in 1998 that the Belfast Agreement instituting power-sharing between pro-British unionists and Irish nationalists was signed.

Mr. Mitchell’s comparison is misleading at best. Success in the Irish talks was the result not just of determination and time, but also a very different United States approach to diplomacy."

And:

"The resumption of peace talks without any Israeli commitment to freeze settlements is another significant victory for the Israel lobby and the Israeli government. It allows Israel to pose as a willing peacemaker while carrying on with business as usual.

As for Mr. Mitchell, since he was appointed Middle East envoy, he has so far enjoyed almost 600 days of failure. As long as the United States maintains the same hopeless approach, he can expect many more."

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