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It’s been a busy week for Mideast diplomats. The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Middle East envoy George Mitchell met with Israeli and Palestinians leaders numerous times over several days. The World’s Matthew Bell has been gauging public opinion on both sides of the divide. Friday he visited the Mehane Yehuda market in downtown Jerusalem and brings us these voices. (Photo: Daniel Estrin)
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MARCO WERMAN: I’m Marco Werman. This is The World. It’s been a busy week for Mideast diplomats. The latest round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks did not produce a breakthrough. In fact, it produced a walk-out threat from the Palestinians over the issue of Israeli settlement construction. The World’s Matthew Bell has been gauging public opinion on both sides of the divide. Today he visited the Mehane Yehuda market in downtown Jerusalem and sent us these voices.
ALONA: My name is Alona.
MATTHEW BELL: When you see pictures of Hillary Clinton meeting with Abbas, Netanyahu, do you feel?
ALONA: Nothing. Because I don’t know if Abbas is the right leader that we need to negotiate with. Because he is not the main enemy for us. The main enemy, for example, is the Hamas. If we’ll do a peace with him, it won’t help us because the main enemy will stay and they don’t want peace with us.
RON BELOVSKY: My name is Ron Belovsky, I’m from Toronto and I live here in Har Hohma, which is one of the disputed areas according to America, but obviously not disputed according to us. You know, I’m sorry. Let’s see the Palestinians start to cooperate with something that we’re trying to do and then something happening. There’s actually an old adage that says, if the Palestinians put down their guns, there will be peace. If the Israelis put down their guns, there won’t be an Israel. That’s what it comes down to.
SPEAKING HEBREW
SARIT: I really hope that the talks succeed but I think that the Israeli public is tired of it. Every time we see this, it repeats itself and the talks blow up in our face. I don’t think the public’s interested any more.
DEBORAH: My name is Deborah. I think that maybe it’s a start to find a way to the solution of this problem of coexistence. Maybe it’s a beginning of something.
GABRIEL: Well, my name is Gabriel. I think that, as my sister said, it’s a very good beginning. But we don’t have to forget that this is the land of the Jewish people. I think that we have to be with our eyes open.
NATANEL: My names in Natanel. I’m 27 years old. I think that the peace come from the people, both people, not from the leaders. If we have a business together and if we sit and eat together and drink coffee together and we have relationship, kind of relationship. So this is peace, but not from the leader and all this paper, because [INDISCERNIBLE] and for the Nobel prize. But it’s bulls**t.
PAUL VESSELEY: My name is Paul Vesseley. And I believe that Netanyahu has already come to the table. I believe it shows that he’s actually very serious about making peace. And I think it’s now time for the Palestinian leadership to show they’re serious about the talks. And they need to come to the table with some serious statements of speaking of a two state solution for two peoples as well which is very important.
WERMAN: Israeli voices from the Mehane Yehuda market in Jerusalem. You can see and hear more from the market in an audio slideshow. You can find it at TheWorld.org.
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