Untitled - orsam

Fatah prior to Operation Cast Lead, asking if they were willing to assume control of Gaza
once Israel defeated Hamas."
"Not surprisingly," Barak said in the meeting, Israel "received negative answers from
both."
While similar reports of such attempts to link the PA and Egypt to Israel's war with
Hamas had already surfaced in the past, the cable released by WikiLeaks on Sunday
represents the first documented proof of such a move.
In the document, Barak also expressed his feeling that "the Palestinian Authority is weak
and lacks self-confidence, and that Gen. Dayton's training helps bolster confidence."
The meeting which the cable documents took place just days before U.S. President
Barack Obama's Cairo speech, and a few weeks after Netanyahu's first visit to the United
States, a visit which revealed the deep differences between Obama and himself.
The cable also refers to what Barak describes as the debate within the Israeli cabinet in
regards to a "development of a response to President Obama's upcoming speech in
Cairo." (Hareetz)
The difficulties U.S. President Barack Obama has encountered in trying to get the Israelis
and Palestinians to the negotiating table show how hard it will be to achieve a peace
agreement even if the talks resume. Anyone who thinks the Americans, who for 18
months haven't gotten the negotiations to resume, will be able to overcome the
differences separating the parties at the talks is feeding dangerous illusions. If it's so hard
to overcome the issue of the construction freeze, how will it be possible to achieve an
understanding on the core issues - borders, settlements, Jerusalem and refugees?
Israel should therefore develop an alternative plan and announce that it will be
implemented if the negotiations fail. The plan should be based on unilateral steps, not
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