The Reuters couch

If there were a school of psychoanalysis created specifically for reporters, Reuters Jerusalem bureau correspondents would keep the shrinks busy for years.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has apparently just informed Reuters that he will formally reject direct talks with Israel when he meets with the Arab League tomorrow.  Why?  Because:

"We [the Palestinians] continue to insist that any negotiations with Israel be based on recognition of 1967 as the future borders of the Palestinian state."[1]

And:

"Israel must accept that the Palestinian territory in question be that of the 1967 borders and with the presence of a third party [on the eastern border]."[2]

This is what Abbas has actually been quoted as saying to Fatah[1] and to the Jordanian newspaper al-Ghad[2].  Neither condition has been agreed in advance by Israel.

Note, the above quotes are not us speaking on behalf of Abbas, paraphrasing him, divining what he is feeling or thinking, sharing our own hopes and dreams for what Abbas should say or acting as his public relations entourage.

One would be hard-pressed however, to understand Abbas' stated reason for rejecting direct talks when trying to follow the vague, contrived, irrelevant, and biased rhetoric of correspondents Ali Sawafta and Tom Perry:

Resisting U.S. pressure, the Palestinian leader has said he first wants indirect talks to make progress, specifically on the issues of the security and borders of a Palestinian state he aims to found on land occupied by Israel since 1967...

Abbas, a central figure in years of negotiations aimed at creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel, is seen as wary of face-to-face talks with a right-wing Israeli leader he doubts is willing to make an offer the Palestinians can accept

If Ali and Tom are ready to get in touch with their subconscious aggression towards the Jewish state, we'll pay for the couch.