To the editor:

Nothing in the article "U.S. Ambassador Says Israel Has Right to Annex Parts of West Bank" indicates he said any such thing, although the call for secure borders in United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 cannot possibly be heeded without Israel ultimately annexing portions.

The article also incorrectly referred to the current approach to the Palestinians as "all-stick, no-carrot." Indeed, the entire Bahrain conference being planned is an enormous carrot being offered to the Palestinian Arabs, which even the article acknowledges "would focus on economic development" of what it incorrectly called the "occupied" territories even though they have been governed by the Palestinian Authority for more than a quarter century.

Typically, the Palestinian Arab leadership has rejected those carrots, "saying there can be no economic peace without a political solution," while they themselves have made a political solution impossible by not only effectively refusing to negotiate with Israel since walking out in 2008 but proclaiming they would never negotiate directly with Israel in the future.

Perhaps one day they will change and realize carrots are good for them.

Sincerely,

Alan Stein