el Sheikh

Palestinians to decide future of talks

Peace talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis have once again shipwrecked on an ocean of semantic squabbling.

Relaunched in September, the talks have tested a core premise of the American diplomatic effort in the Middle East: bringing the two sides to sit down and hammer out a comprehensive peace deal that would pave the way to the creation of a Palestinian state.

After three rounds of direct talks in Washington, DC, the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh and Jerusalem, negotiations collapsed when Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, refused to extend a moratorium on illegal settlement construction in the West Bank.

The Palestinians and the Israelis haven't had a chance to tackle core issues: the borders of the future state, security, the refugees, Jerusalem and the settlements.