Dennis Ross trip almost useless, little optimism

The US envoy to the peace process in the Middle East, Dennis Ross, is arriving today in the area in a new effort to forward the peace process, during which he will meet with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A Palestinian spokesman told ArabicNews.com that the Palestinian government feels little optimism for this visit, adding that Ross has "no power to impose anything on any party. If the U.S.A had the real intention of pushing the peace process forward, it would have had announced its initiative and insisted that Israel must implement its initiative."

He added that Ross' new talks will fail like his other attempts and that Ross' coming no longer enjoys the importance it had at the beginning of his efforts.