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Now, why shouldn't we be surprised?

Talk about "told you so". Those so-called Israel-Palestinian talks are, yet again, dead - not that they ever had any reality underpinning them in the first place. They "talks" have also highlighted how America has grovelled to the Israelis and yet they, in turn, have cocked their noses at the USA. Life, settlements and all, goes on in Israel.'

Here is The New York Times' obituary:

"After three weeks of fruitless haggling with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Obama administration has given up its effort to persuade the Israeli government to freeze construction of Jewish settlements for 90 days, a senior administration official said Tuesday.

The decision leaves Middle East peace talks in flux, with the Palestinians refusing to resume direct negotiations absent a moratorium, and the United States struggling to find another formula to bring them back to the table. It is another setback in what has proved to be a star-crossed campaign by President Obama.

The administration decided to pull the plug, officials said, because it concluded that even if Mr. Netanyahu persuaded his cabinet to accept a freeze — which he had not yet been able to do — the 90-day negotiating period would not have produced the progress on core issues that the United States originally had sought."

Even in Israel, The Jerusalem Post reports:

"A top Palestinian Authority official on Wednesday questioned Washington's ability to forge Middle East peace after a new breakdown in American attempts to revive negotiations.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a top aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said the Palestinians were assessing their options before responding to the American announcement. While accusing the Israelis of being intransigent, he also voiced disappointment with the Americans."

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