based Al-Madinah said the call of US President Barack Obama to enhance confidence between the Palestinians and Israelis so as to pave the way for direct negotiations comes at the time when indirect negotiations under the American patronage have been suspended. This coincidence raises questions about the feasibleness of indirect negotiations the Palestinians were forced to accept due to American pressures, said the paper, noting that the Palestinians are now under new pressures to be involved in direct negotiations without attaining any progress in the indirect negotiations. The paper pointed out to the contradicting statements of Obama who had earlier said the dream of the Palestinians as regards the establishment of a state capable of survival alongside Israel would be realized before the end of the first term of rule, with his other statement in which he said it would be difficult to reach a peace agreement during the remaining time of his rule. "It is high time for the Palestinians to give top priority to the higher interests of their cause," said the paper noting that as the Palestinian authority and the deposed government of Hamas have pledged to stop violent acts, then Israel will not find any justification for escalating its aggressive and provocative acts against the Palestinian people. Any way, it is difficult to think that direct negotiations will yield positive results as long as the indirect negotiations have not yielded positive results as regards the borders or the security situation, the daily added. --More
