The Palestinian Authority's Three Conditions

The Palestinian Authority is stipulating that Israel's new government must fulfill three conditions before future talks can be held. Ben Caspit reports in Ma'ariv:

The PA will not hold any talks with the Netanyahu government until three conditions are met: the settlements are frozen, Israeli recognizes all the agreements signed between the sides and all the agreements appended to them, and Israel recognizes the solution of "two states for two peoples," high-ranking Palestinian figures told Ma'ariv.

This is an internal Palestinian decision that was made after Netanyahu's victory, and refers to any talks between the sides, including sending messengers such as Attorney Yitzhak Molcho, who was and remains Netanyahu's personal envoy to the Palestinians. Molcho has been taking part in the last few days in the feverish consultations that Netanyahu is holding as part of the "reassessment" he is making on the Palestinian issue. Naturally the Palestinian decision also refers to meetings of the leaders, Abu Mazen and Netanyahu, which will not be held, as said, until the conditions are met.

The Palestinian decision casts in a problematic light the Netanyahu government, which is now operating in a vacuum, without a clear or declared policy, except for general mutterings about a commitment to the peace process. Israel is cast as the rejectionist, similar to Hamas, which also refuses to meet the three conditions set by the international community. Abu Mazen himself said in the last few days, in closed meetings as well as in open forums, things from which it could be understood that there would be no negotiations or talks with Israel until these conditions were met.