Journalists, observers and worried friends repeatedly ask the common question: Is a new Intifada imminent? And will failed meetings and unfulfilled agreements trigger it off?
Undeniably, anger and frustration and, to a certain extent, despair are mounting on the Palestinian side. The situation has never been worse. Palestinians see no sign of hope either within the present course of the peace process, or in developments on the ground. All they see, instead, are expanding settlements arid bypass roads destroying their fields and crops, isolating their cities and villages and fragmenting their land. With this, all hopes for a new era of peace and prosperity have faded.
Clearly, Mr. Netanyahu has his own agenda, topped by his desire to be re¬elected for another four-year term. To achieve this, he has to maintain his narrow coalition with the right-wing parties, and maybe to expand it further to the extreme right. He has been conducting inte
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