A New Yorker book review presents a simplistic and facile rendition of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process -- positing that its failure is due to Israeli settlements and that the deleterious role of the Palestinians is irrelevant. It seems that some members of the media are having a tough time differentiating the terms of the American brokered "road map" from Palestinian unilateral demands on Israel. Namely, while Palestinians have conditioned their cease-fire on the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons (among other demands), the "road map" plan, drawn up by the United States, European Union, Russia, and the United Nations, has nothing at all to say about Palestinian prisoners.
THUMBS UP to the Boston Globe's Charles Radin Jerusalem bureau chief, and Globe reporter Dan Ephron for their April 29 article entitled "Claims of massacre go unsupported by Palestinian fighters," which represents an unusual effort to get beyond the "he said/she said" counter-allegations concerning Israel's actions in Jenin. Rather than simply reporting the competing claims of officials on each side, Radin spoke with Palestinian fighters and others on the scene to get their version of events.