Mr. Alan Shatter:

I am very familiar with the Mitchell principles and with George Mitchell. George Mitchell tried to effect the same resolution on Israelis and Palestinians as he effected in Northern Ireland. It did not work because there was absolute division within Palestinian society. The same principles he applied to Northern Ireland, he tried to apply to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Sadly and tragically, and to sum up in the words of a very famous Israeli Foreign Minister, Abba Eban, the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. This conflict could have ended so many years ago and so differently without the dreadful events we are witnessing today.