To the editor:
I find it curious that the article about Riyad Mansour (Son of an Ohio Steelworker, Now Palestinian Envoy to the U.N.), the representative of the Palestinian Authority to the United Nations, refers to him being "best known for tactics advancing the cause of Palestinian statehood in ways that have bypassed Israel" and explaining those tactics as "necessary because direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians have done little."
Direct talks led to three different offers, in 2000, 2001 and 2008, for a Palestinian Arab state in virtually all the disputed territories. The Palestinian negotiators responded by launching a brutal terror offensive in 2000 and just walking away in 2008.
Not only has the Palestinian Authority refused to negotiate directly with Israel for more than a decade, but more than three years ago announced they would never again negotiate directly with Israel.
Direct talks have done little because the Palestinian Arab leaders haven't wanted them to succeed. They've bypassed Israel, in blatant violation of their solemn commitments under the Oslo Accords, because they don't want peace with Israel; they want a world without Israel.
Sincerely,
Alan Stein