Obama offers carrots to Israel and Palestinians.
Mark Landler notes how the Obama administration is dishing out the goodies to get the Israelis and Palestinians back to the table:
'Not only is the Obama administration holding hands, they said, it is also handing out concessions to each side, in a bid to keep Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas at the table. The generosity of the American offers, and the reluctance of the Israelis or the Palestinians to accept them, have been telling.On Tuesday, Mr. Netanyahuâ??s senior cabinet ministers convened in Jerusalem, officials said, and did not even take up a package of security guarantees being offered by the United States in return for Israelâ??s extending a freeze on the construction of settlements in the West Bank by 60 days.
The Palestinians, meanwhile, rejected a proposal by the administration that they keep negotiating without an extension, in return for an American endorsement of their position on the borders of a future Palestinian state. Without an extension, the Palestinians insist, the talks are dead.
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So if the carrots fail, will the administration turn to sticks?