Free Republic

The US-brokered peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have reportedly reached an impasse due to an Israeli refusal to discuss land-swap and border issues, an Israeli newspaper reported Sunday. According to an unnamed, senior foreign diplomat with knowledge of the discussions, during the latest round of talks, the Israeli team of Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Netanyahu adviser Yitzhak Molcho made it clear to the Palestinians that Israel intends to keep some of the settlement blocs inside Israel as part of a final agreement, but refused to name which areas or discuss possible compensation to the Palestinians for...

With headlines blazing and printer's ink aplenty, the Washington Post and the New York Times turned downright apoplectic about Mitt Romney's comment in Jerusalem that differences in "culture" are the key to Israel greatly outpacing the Palestinian territories in economic performance. "Romney angers Palestinians with remarks on economy," reads a six-page headline in the Post. "With Jerusalem Comment, Romney Raises Sparks," blares a six-column headline in the Times. The headlines are a tip-off that these two papers deem Romney's remark an unpardonable affront to their own narratives of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For years, they have blamed Israel for prolonging the...