RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian Authority (PA) recently intensified its meetings with Israeli journalists, former lawmakers, political party members and academics in an attempt to gain their cooperation and to explain Palestinians' broad rejection of the US Mideast peace plan. But these gatherings aren't sitting well with the public.
Coordinated by the PLO’s Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society, a series of meetings began Feb. 2, bringing together an Israeli academic delegation and a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub, in Ramallah. Since then, several more meetings have been held. On Feb. 14, former Knesset members, Israeli political figures, Palestinian representatives and members of the interaction committee met in Tel Aviv.