LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِMay 27/2010

Bible Of the Day
Psalm 143/A Psalm by David.
143:1 Hear my prayer, Yahweh. Listen to my petitions. In your faithfulness and righteousness, relieve me. 143:2 Don’t enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no man living is righteous. 143:3 For the enemy pursues my soul. He has struck my life down to the ground. He has made me live in dark places, as those who have been long dead. 143:4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me. My heart within me is desolate. 143:5 I remember the days of old. I meditate on all your doings. I contemplate the work of your hands. 143:6 I spread forth my hands to you. My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land. Selah. 143:7 Hurry to answer me, Yahweh. My spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, so that I don’t become like those who go down into the pit. 143:8 Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for I trust in you. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to you. 143:9 Deliver me, Yahweh, from my enemies. I flee to you to hide me. 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness. 143:11 Revive me, Yahweh, for your name’s sake. In your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble. 143:12 In your loving kindness, cut off my enemies, and destroy all those who afflict my soul, For I am your servant.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Hezbollah's Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's speech of 25 May/10
Assad's free market policies transform Damascus, but no political reform in sight in Syria/By Hamza Hendawi (CP)/May 26/10
EdL D.O.A/A health check on the electricity sector/By: Matt Nash/May 26, 2010
Hariri in DC: an enlightened ally/By: Elie Fawaz/Now Lebanon/May 26, 10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for May 26/10
Obama invites Israeli PM for talks on June 1/Now Lebanon
PM Saad Hariri addresses UN Security Council in New York/Now Lebanon
Geagea: Suleiman's Statement on Defense Strategy Contradicts Inaugural Speech/Naharnet
Berri urges finalization of state budget/Now Lebanon
March 14: Liberating occupied territory only possible by ‘real’ state control/Now Lebanon
Washington down, New York next to go on Hariri’s visit/Now Lebanon
Hezbollahland/BBC News
Hizbollah keeps its powder dry/National
Nasrallah threatens ships going to Israel in future war/Reuters
Tourists at new Hezbollah 'village' view bunkers, bombs of Lebanon-Israel conflict/Christian Science Monitor
Flashpoint village that straddles Lebanon-Israel conflict seeks peace/Christian Science Monitor
Gemayel after Meeting Berri: We Refuse that there be Arms Outside the State's Authority/Naharnet
March 14 General-Secretariat: Heavy Voter Turnout in South Strong Sign of Their Vitality/Naharnet
Diplomatic Fears of Regional War, Report/Naharnet
Hariri Addresses Security Council after Hailing Obama on Peace Efforts/Naharnet
Aoun: Jezzine Witnessed the Greatest Electoral Battle and so Will Batroun/Naharnet
Pelosi: We'll Work with Hariri, Lebanese Leaders on the Challenges Facing Lebanon, Mideast/Naharnet
Ex-MP Mahmoud Ammar Dies at 90/Naharnet
Wahab: Lebanon Must Reject Iran Sanctions, Seek to Drop Them/Naharnet
Qaouq: One Image in Damascus Altered Regional Scene, Israel's Threats Collapsing/Naharnet
Fatfat: Israeli is an Aggressor State that Can Use Internal or External Excuses to Wage a War/Naharnet

Obama invites Israeli PM for talks on June 1
May 26, 2010
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel delivered a personal invitation on Wednesday to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for holding talks with US President Barack Obama at the White House on June 1, Israeli premier’s spokesperson, Mark Regev, told AFP.
"The prime minister accepted his gracious invitation," he added.
-AFP/ NOW Lebanon

Washington down, New York next to go on Hariri’s visit
May 26, 2010
Now Lebanon/After several rounds of talks in Washington earlier this week, Prime Minister Saad Hariri arrived in New York on Wednesday where he is expected to address the UN Security Council, media reports said. Lebanon currently holds the monthly rotating seat of president of the Security Council. Hariri met with US President Barack Obama in Washington on Monday and other officials, including Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman. The PM, who arrived in New York on Wednesday morning, is set to meet with local Lebanese there - and has also been invited to attend a reception by Lebanon's permanent representative to the UN, Nawaf Salam, the Voice of Lebanon (VOL) radio station reported on Wednesday. During a ceremony held at the Rafik Hariri building in Washington’s Georgetown University on Tuesday evening, Hariri said that Lebanon faced many difficulties and conflicts but managed to get through it, according to a statement issued by his office.
Hariri said that Lebanon remains united although it faces threats of domestic division. The PM said Palestinians should be given the right to return to their country.
“Time is running out to face the global danger of increased extremism and terrorism,” Hariri said, adding that “now is the time to work, [and end misery].”
-NOW Lebanon

EdL D.O.A.
A health check on the electricity sector
Matt Nash, May 26, 2010
Now Lebanon
Lebanon’s electricity sector is in dire trouble and a fix is not on the horizon. (AFP photo/Pablo Cuarterolo)
Lebanon’s richest and most powerful may soon be either eating dinner at home in the dark or paying more for illegally-generated electricity. Energy and Water Minister Gebran Bassil recently threatened to cut the state power supply of several MPs and ministers because they routinely refuse to cough up cash when the electric company asks them to settle their bills.
In April Bassil said that over $1 billion in unpaid bills has accumulated “over the years” with politicians owing the lion’s share (some $8 million) to the perennially broke Electricité du Liban (EdL).
Appearing on the popular political talk show Kalam an-Nas last Thursday, Bassil warned the politicians – whom he has still not named – that they may soon be cut off, but tempered his threat by saying the ministry would call those concerned “before any action is taken.”
The minister, whose office refused an interview request, says he has a 10-point plan to fix the ailing electricity sector, but has not yet made that plan public.
Nabil Yamout, an advisor to Finance Minister Raya al-Hassan, told NOW Lebanon that Bassil is sharing his plan with various ministers and political parties before presenting it to the cabinet. Yamout said that the 2010 draft budget – which the cabinet is in the process of debating – includes appropriations to fix some of the sector’s problems.
That said, some of the best-laid plans in Lebanon often go awry.
Former Energy and Water Minister Alain Tabourian told NOW Lebanon that he too once had a plan during his July 2008 to June 2009 tenure.
“The prime minister did not put it on the [agenda] of the council of ministers,” Tabourian said. “Nobody had the chance even to discuss it.”
Unpaid bills, Tabourian and another person familiar with the sector said, are only a small part of the many problems facing EdL.
“The bills aren’t the problem,” said Chafic Abisaid, a retired engineer who worked in the power and water sectors for years, including with EdL. “Theft is the bigger problem. People tamper with their meters, so they receive bills – which they pay – that do not really reflect what they’ve used.”
Theft, Tabourian said, contributes around 19 percent to EdL’s increasing deficit (expected to surpass $1.5 billion in 2010).
Solving the theft problem – much like fixing all of EdL’s woes – requires a political decision and most likely the use of state security forces, Tabourian said. Sensing a complete lack of will to tackle this problem, Tabourian advocated starting somewhere else.
For example, technical losses – electricity wasted in the transmission and distribution process – account for 15 percent of EdL’s deficit, Tabourian said. Aging and poorly maintained infrastructure is the main culprit, and can be fixed quickly with some investment and the decision to actually do it.
“You could cut your technical losses in half, but that would require investment,” Tabourian said. Yamout, from the Ministry of Finance, told NOW Lebanon that the 2010 budget focuses on improving the country’s infrastructure, including an appropriation to improve the nation’s ailing power grid.
However, the real terrible twins terrorizing the electricity sector are the high costs of fuel to create the electricity and the limited supply of power Lebanon’s derelict fleet of plants can produce. Lebanon “imports 96 percent of its energy consumption,” according to the Oxford Business Group, and its bill is largely dependent on the price of oil – which has been high in the past few years.
Reducing the cost of fueling the power plants is certainly not easy. Tabourian advocated trying to find multiple suppliers and negotiating deals for cheaper fuel, but his plan was never presented. Finding a quick, easy fix for this is not in the cards.
Even if EdL’s own power bill could be drastically reduced, the company’s total production capacity is less than the country’s consistently-rising demand. So even if the state manages to staunch the flow of bail-out bucks, the country will still be in the dark several hours every day.
Lebanon needs at least 2,500 megawatts of power but can only produce around 1,500 megawatts, if not a bit less due to maintenance and infrastructure problems, Tabourian said. The answer lies in creating more generation capacity. Tabourian’s solution, which was never implemented, was purchasing very large generators that would have added more electricity immediately and run more efficiently than some of the country’s power plants.
Yamout said the 2010 budget calls for building a new 700 megawatt power plant. That would apparently not entirely solve the problem of electricity shortage, and it would take a few years to build, so the fix is by no means around the corner. In principle, the government is dedicated to privatizing EdL to fix it (pledges to do so were part of agreements Lebanon signed for aid money in early 2007 and regularly included in recent ministerial statements). Selling this most controversial of state assets has indeed been a bone of contention among politicians for years, and as Abisaid, the retired engineer, noted, “They can’t even agree on what privatization means.” So why, exactly, is it that after nearly 20 years of “development and reconstruction,” private, illegal electricity generators are prolific as the state cannot keep the lights on? In Abisaid’s grim assessment: “The politicians don’t care.”

Hariri in DC: an enlightened ally
Elie Fawaz, May 26, 2010
Now Lebanon
US President Barack Obama (R) speaks with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri during a meeting on May 24, 2010 in the Oval Office of the White House. (AFP photo/Mandel Ngan)
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has been on the political ropes of late. And who can blame him? No sooner had his March 14 coalition won the 2009 parliamentary elections, than regional power broking kicked in and determined that he head a so-called government of national unity, one in which his “partners” are hell-bent on bringing him down.
Those who believe Hariri has effectively been neutralized as a political force by Hezbollah, Iran and Syria predicted that his current trip to the US would be nothing more than a useful photo opportunity. This is to look at the glass half empty. One can equally point to the fact that Hariri, temporarily freed from the suffocating gridlock of Lebanese politics, has so far demonstrated impeccable statesmanlike credentials in advancing Lebanon’s cause and positioning himself as a credible Arab leader whom the West should rush to embrace. It has been, if you like, an example of grace under pressure.
No one denies that outrageous limitations have been imposed on Hariri’s mandate, but not only has Hariri not thrown in the towel, he has proved that he can punch above his weight.
Hariri landed in Washington backed by the international community and the instruments of legal diplomacy. In a region where Lebanon’s sovereign integrity has been kicked from corner to post, they are all he has left (and arguably all he needs) to make a case for his country’s journey to fully-fledged nationhood.
He has the support of the Arab nations and the backing of UN resolutions. Tucked in his pocket is an Arab peace plan that was brokered in Beirut at the 2002 Arab League Summit and which is still alive, while Nawaf Salam, his UN ambassador, is currently chairing the Security Council.
But it all could have gone horribly wrong. The trip was under pressure from the start. The Syrian regime, which is desperately trying to reassert itself through its local allies as the main power broker in Lebanon, was never happy that Hariri would be talking to the Americans. It prefers to play the interlocutor with Washington.
Hariri is clearly not a foolish man. Over the past five years he has developed a sternness that can only come from seeing his father, friends and allies murdered in cold blood. He has cut his teeth in the most brutal political arena. So what did he do when he saw the pressure was mounting for him to abandon his visit? He embarked upon a round of shuttle diplomacy to win the support of the Arab nations.
That done, he headed to DC, knowing that his visit coincided with Lebanon’s one-month tenure chairing the United Nations Security Council, of which he will attend a session. On Wednesday, he will meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who has pledged his support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and brought a degree of measured calm to the Scud missile crisis. He can also insist that unless Lebanon wants to go down as yet another failed state, it is essential that UN Security Council resolutions 1559, 1680 and 1701 be fully implemented.
Previously he met with US President Barack Obama. He will have surely rebuffed arguments that Lebanon cannot be supported unconditionally, that isolating Syria is too high a price to pay in such a volcanic region. He will also snuff out the well-intentioned but misguided theory that America should reach out to the so-called moderates in the Lebanese opposition. For Hariri understands that while Hezbollah and its allies are part of Lebanon’s political fabric, the constitutional integrity of the state cannot be further abused by more regional horse-trading.
Hariri went to Washington as an advocate of nation building. He will have been keen to secure greater support for the Lebanese army, which, with US help is beginning to shape into a genuine national defense unit. Hariri will want to remind Obama and his aides that regional peace must also be conditional on the existence of state actors with a strong institutional core. He is doing this for one simple reason. He wants to avoid war.
But arguably the biggest card he can play with Obama is the still “active” peace plan that was brokered in Beirut at the Arab League Summit in 2002. The initiative, which is based on the concept of land for peace and which affirms that a military solution to the both the Arab-Israeli and the Palestinian-Israeli conflicts will never yield results, was hailed at the time as a genuine breakthrough and was passed unanimously. The role of Lebanon in its creation cannot be overestimated, and Hariri, as the guardian of this initiative, has political capital in the bank.
He knows how to use it. He has already told President Obama that the clock is ticking on regional peace. Writing in the LA Times, he said that “Mideast peace is now a global problem. And global problems call for global solutions and global leadership. Today this leadership responsibility falls primarily on the United States.” He understands extremism and is prepared to take it on. The US could not have a more enlightened ally. It should not ignore him.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
May 26, 2010
On May 25, the Lebanese National News Agency carried the following report:
Hezbollah commemorated the tenth anniversary of Resistance and Liberation Day in a celebration organized at 8:30 p.m. in the Sayyed al-Shuhada’s compound in Rweiss... During the celebration, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered a speech which he opened by saluting the spirits of the martyrs and the people of the South “who were present on Sunday to participate in the municipal and mayoral elections despite Israeli maneuvers on the border with Lebanon…
“We salute the pure souls of the martyrs of the resistance, the liberation and victory in Lebanon and all the martyrs who offered their blood to secure this victory, especially the Sayyed of the martyrs Sayyed Abbas al-Moussawi, the Sheikh of the martyrs Sheikh Ragheb Harb and Hajj Radwan Imad Mugniyah. I thank our people in all the districts of the South and especially in the border region who were present on Sunday and did not fear anyone, thus participating in a massive way despite the maneuvers within the Israeli entity and all the rumors attempting to intimidate them. The men women and children staged the celebrations of democracy, freedom of expression, unity, victory, liberation and resistance and I thank all the Lebanese who completed the first and second stages of the municipal election and especially those who supported our alliance…
“Many key factors entailed victory, namely the will and steadfastness of the people who stood alongside the resistance. At this point, I am not talking about a popular consensus but about the majority, because consensus was never present. There was also political and security stability in the country, the deployment of the army in all regions and the calm seen on the domestic front which was mainly secured by the army. Thirdly, there was coordination and cooperation between the resistance and the army and a distribution of the roles. The resistance never interfered in the work of the army and its presence was secret. Fourthly, we saw the steadfastness of the political authority in Lebanon in the face of American threats and pressures, while enjoying the multifaceted support of Syria and the Islamic Republic of Iran of which we are proud and for which we are thankful. Finally, the main factor was the Jihadist resistance which made sacrifices and depleted the enemy.
“Today, we confirm the equation that secured victory: The army, the people and the resistance, as it was said by the ministerial statement and was reiterated by President Sleiman who expressed the official Lebanese stand in this statement… Sleiman conveyed his convictions and experience, while voicing the opinion of the majority of the Lebanese people because there is no Lebanese consensus over or against the resistance. Nonetheless, the majority of the people have always been with the resistance and I do not wish to comment on rumors we hear here because the occasion is much more dignified than that…”
The Israelis “always launched their wars with a safe domestic front. This situation is gone for good. After 2006, this will never be the case again. We have a domestic front and they have a domestic front and today we have inaugurated a new era in which we will be bombed and we will bomb, we will be killed and we will kill, we will be displaced and will displace and this is their current strategic weakness. Their domestic front was protected in most of the previous wars and confrontations. However, this is no longer the case. Through their maneuvers, they want to reassure the domestic front by saying they are strong and powerful and ready to face any coming war. On the other hand, some mock these maneuvers by stating: Let us see the results of these maneuvers when rockets fall all over occupied Palestine. All the commotion about the Scuds which I will neither deny nor confirm, aimed to get $250 million from Congress to help Israel build the new iron dome (anti-ballistic defense system) whose function is yet to be proven. In my opinion, this shows that the Israelis are seriously concerned and afraid of launching war and of the consequences of this war…
“The majority of foreign and some Arab delegations come to Lebanon because it has a resistance. We know why they come and what they talk about with Lebanese officials. Most of them talk about the Scud missiles, the Lebanese-Syrian border, Hezbollah’s intentions, the situation on the border and [resolution] 1701. They all come to be reassured in regard to Israel not Lebanon and to protect Israel not Lebanon. The last time he came, Kouchner was at ease because he was reassured about the non-introduction of Scuds into Lebanon. The issue of whether or not the Scuds were introduced is not yet known, but Kouchner was reassured…
“In the case of any coming war, I say (addressing the Israelis): If you blockade our coastline, shores and ports, all military and commercial ships heading toward Palestine throughout the Mediterranean Sea will be targeted by the rockets of the Islamic resistance. Now, we are talking about the Mediterranean and have not yet reached the Red Sea. We are determined to enter this new arena with God’s Will. No one will dare go to any port in Palestine and they will be prevented from coming to ours. We may allow ships exiting occupied Palestine and carrying passenger to pass.
“Their weapons used to generate fear but this is no longer the case. Our hearts feel no fear. Let us topple the equation instead of remaining in a defensive position on the psychological level. Let us make Israel scared and force it to seek reassurance. I do not wish to reassure it because when Israel is in this state, it attacks, and when it is afraid, it retreats. As for those calling for the disarmament of the resistance because its weapons caused war, their talk is no longer useful and the resistance overcame this rhetoric a long time ago… We will confront the next war, win it and change the face of the region.”

Assad's free market policies transform Damascus, but no political reform in sight in Syria
By Hamza Hendawi (CP) –
DAMASCUS, Syria — After delivering a lecture on the increasing role of private banks in Syria, economist Mohammed Ayman al-Maydani got an uncomfortable request from members of the audience to elaborate on a brief reference he made to corruption in the country's private and public sectors.
"If I answer this question I may not get to spend the night at home," he quipped, alluding to the possibility he could be arrested. There was nervous laughter from the room.
The tense moment at the Damascus lecture earlier this month underscored how much and how little has changed in Syria under President Bashar Assad in recent years. The Syrian leader has slowly moved to lift Soviet-style economic restrictions his father and predecessor, Hafez Assad, left him.
He opened up the country for foreign banks, threw its doors wide open for imports, authorized private higher education and empowered the private sector.
But the lanky, former eye doctor who came to power 10 years ago this summer has not matched his liberal economic policies with any political reforms. None, in fact, and his powerful security services are in constant watch for criticism of the regime.
In the process, Assad has changed the Syrian regime's basis of legitimacy. He has depended less on his father's old anti-Israeli, Arab nationalism rhetoric, basing his power instead on promises of stability, modernization, economic openness and ending Syria's international isolation.
After 10 years of Assad's rule, the Damascus that once looked like a grim little place now smells of money, gripped by a consumer boom sustained by a clique of nouveau riche and businessmen living it up in what's essentially a "money talks" society.
Foreign tourists crowd the old city's storied bazaar, hotels boast full occupancy and trendy restaurants are so busy that advance booking is always recommended. The latest car models from Japan and Europe are a common sight on the city's congested streets and boutiques selling designer clothes seem to multiply.
Opening up a country economically while denying the populace democracy and freedoms is perhaps the Arab world's most popular formula of governance. Close U.S. allies Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan have been pioneers in the field.
It is not entirely risk-free. The free market economy often makes political reform the next logical step in people's minds. Moreover, some Syrian economists warn that the changes have widened the gap between rich and poor and send prices soaring beyond the reach of most — making the regime vulnerable to popular grumbling or even unrest.
"The real challenge ... is managing the switch from a socialist to a free market economy without increasing poverty," said economist Jihad Yazigi. "But the government has not managed this as well as it should."
Reform, he said, is desperately needed to root out corruption in the bloated government sector and to make the judiciary more efficient in dealing with trade disputes, if the regime is serious about boosting the economy.
Still, Assad has been strong enough to weather a difficult past few years, as Syria was forced to withdraw its military from neighbouring Lebanon in 2005 and endured heavy international isolation that is only now beginning to ease. Assad has so far been able to withstand U.S. pressure that Syria break its alliances with Iran and militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.
"Consolidating his power-base has been a trying process, but his grip on power today is undeniable," said Bilal Saab, a Middle East expert from the University of Maryland at College Park who regularly briefs U.S. officials on Lebanon and Syria.
Assad's image as a modernizer, helped by the appeal and sophistication of his attractive, British-born wife Asmaa, have helped him increase his popularity among Syria's 20 million people.
Meanwhile, his family and its trusted associates keep a tight grip on the armed forces, security and intelligence. They and the new business clique that owes its deep pockets to the regime control the biggest and most lucrative businesses like mobile phone line providers and franchises for anything from cars to computers.
Unlike his father, the younger Assad has not responded to political dissent by jailing thousands without trial or by razing entire neighbourhoods to the ground — steps that would worsen Syria's isolation.
Still, after a short-lived accommodation with opponents soon after coming to power in 2000, he has followed the same uncompromising intolerance for dissent.
Haitham al-Maleh is a good example — the prominent 79-year-old reform activist is currently standing trial before a military court on charges of "disseminating false news that could weaken the nation's morale."
His crime was criticizing arrests and the emergency law in a TV interview and in Web articles.
In an April 22 court appearance, al-Maleh pleaded to no avail to be released while on trial because of his deteriorating health. He complains of diabetes and arthritis.
Assad's feared security agencies also keep a close watch on everyone, carefully combing Internet postings for criticism of the regime and any sign of religious militancy. Syrians say they are back to whispering again just as they were when they wanted to talk politics under the rule of the late Assad.
U.S.-based Syria expert Joshua M. Landis said Assad's claim to legitimacy is no longer rooted in Syria's conflict with Israel, as it was under his father.
"It is based on the fear of chaos and the promise of stability," he said.
Still, the younger Assad uses the formal state of war with Israel to his advantage, with his regime citing it to explain away economic woes, emergency laws and harsh treatment of critics.
"Insisting on the idea that we are in a state of war with Israel since 1973 is no longer acceptable," said Aref Dalilah, a leading economist who in 2008 completed serving a seven-year sentence after criticizing business monopolies awarded by the government.
"It's being used to justify everything."
Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

PM: Iran-Brazil-Turkey Uranium Deal is an Act of Deception
by Gil Ronen/Arutz Sheva
`Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu broke his silence Tuesday regarding Iran's enriched uranium deal with Turkey, calling it “an act of deception.” Until this statement, the Israeli government had offered no official comment on the deal, apparently preferring to let other countries react to it first.
Iran announced last week it would ship its nuclear reactors’ low-grade uranium to Turkey, which in return will give Tehran fuel rods of medium-enriched uranium for a "medical research reactor." The deal was also signed by Brazil.
Speaking before the Knesset plenum in a special session convened at the request of 40 Knesset members, Netanyahu said: “This is transparently an Iranian act of deception that is meant to divert international opinion from the sanctions against Iran in the [United Nations] Security Council.”
The deal between Iran, Turkey and Brazil is “a bogus suggestion,” he said, “because it leaves Iran with enough uranium to manufacture nuclear weapons.”
“It is commendable that the United States has decided to move forward in pushing through sanctions,” said the Israeli head of state. “This is an important move in a symbolic sense, but it is clear to us that these sanctions will not stop Iran. Harsher sanctions will make clearer the determination to prevent Iran's arming with nuclear weapons, but it is not certain that even they will stop it.”
Regarding indirect negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, which began recently and are to last four months, Netanyahu said: “The primary and most important principle, which I am glad that the United States adopted and made clear to the Palestinian Authority, is that there are no preconditions. This should not prevent the discussions from taking place.”
"The second principle that we and the United States agree about – and I would like to hope that the Palestinians understand this too – is that the proximity talks are the initial stage and a short corridor to direct talks.”