The Palestinians will take part in the next round of Middle East peace talks, despite their current objections, according to veteran Israeli diplomat Uri Lubrani.
“The Americans would not have issued the invitations had they not been sure that all parties, including the Palestinians, will come to Washington on April 20,” said Lubrani, who is co-chairman of the Israeli delegation for the bilateral talks with Lebanon.
Lubrani said the Palestinians will attend notwithstanding their insistence that Israel renounce deportation as a means of punishment and repatriate all 415 Palestinian expelled to Lebanon.
Nevertheless, Lubrani said at a news conference here over the weekend, the Palestinians would continue to insist on the return of the 400 deportees right up until the date of the talks.
Lubrani, who was in charge of negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages and war prisoners in Lebanon, has compared the peace negotiations to buying at a Middle Eastern bazaar.
“The customer leaves the shop, the shopkeeper runs after him, and at the end the customer returns to the shop. This is the name of the game now,” he said.
Bearing this in mind, Lubrani considers harmful statements by some Israelis that the country should be prepared to return all of the Golan Heights in exchange for a peace with Syria.
“One should not reveal his cards at a bazaar,” he said. Israel should negotiate directly with its neighbors, concluded Lubrani. “Too many cooks spoil the broth.”
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