Peace deal with Palestinians scuttled by tweet
An historic final peace agreement was reached by Israel and the Palestinian Authority Friday, only to fall through by Sunday morning due to a chain of events set off by an unfortunate tweet by Tzipi Livni. The Times of Israel has learned some of the behind-the-scenes details.
It was only days after Livni, the leader of the Hatnua party, signed on to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition as head of Israel’s negotiating team, that she informed the prime minister that she’d achieved what for almost a decade had seemed unattainable – an outline for a final peace deal with the country’s life-long enemies.
According to a senior government official, under the arrangement Israel was to retain total control over all of Jerusalem and the West Bank. In exchange, the Palestinians would be given the city of Tel Aviv.
“With miles of beaches and myriad premium gourmet dining options, it was simply too good for (Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud) Abbas to pass up,” the official said. “It was really quite amazing: After five hours of negotiations with Abbas, Livni was tired and wanted to get home to watch Master Chef – she had recorded it during the campaign and was rooting for Salma. She just wanted to go home.”
http://www.timesofisrael.com/peace-deal-with-palestinians-scuttled-by-tweet/
