The War for Peace: George H. W. Bush and Palestine, 1989-1992 Page: 19
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Palestinians to engage on the substantive issues of elections and the negotiating process,
while safeguarding the legitimate interests of all involved."30 In December, the
Egyptians followed in endorsing the points, along with the PLO, though not without
some hand-wrangling about who would assume responsibility if the Palestinians were
unacceptable to the Israelis.
The fears of the Egyptians were not unfounded, as the PLO insisted that both
members of the external PLO, and a delegate from East Jerusalem be on hand for the
negotiations with Israel. A solution was worked out in private between Ross and Rabin
in which the Israelis agreed to talk to a Palestinian who maintained an address both in
East Jerusalem and somewhere else in the West Bank. The striking feature of these
discussions is not the diplomatic progress being made but intimacy of the brokering.
Ross frequently recounts about how he used his home for private meetings with top
Israeli envoys. He noted, "Somehow it was impolite to be combative in someone's home
- both for the guest and the host."31 It was also likely easier to discuss sensitive issues
off-the-record in an informal locale. Ross primarily used this avenue to persuade lower
level officials to persuade their bosses without direct talks between the high-level players,
an example of an official in a hierarchy networking to build trust.
Ross' efforts were only partially successful; Many Israeli leaders were convinced
of the need to deal with the PLO in order for the dialogue to proceed, including two of
the three leaders in Israel's unity government, Rabin and Shimon Peres. Rabin had
30 Statement by the Press Secretary, 15 November 1989, Folder "Middle East," Category Code CO001-07,
Document Number / Range 004273 to 049849, David C. Welsh files, George Bush Presidential Library.
31 Ross, Missing Peace. 63.19
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Arduengo, Enrique Sebastian. The War for Peace: George H. W. Bush and Palestine, 1989-1992, thesis, August 2009; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc11061/m1/25/: accessed May 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .