ABSTRACT
As we have seen, Arabs and Israelis were brought 'to the table' several times between 1949 and 1951 - only rarely, it is true, to the same table (the GAAs at Rhodes), but at least to parallel tables at Lausanne, Geneva and Paris. And, as we have seen, the PCC was simply unable to advance any of these series of talks beyond prenegotiation. Arabs and Israelis believed that, while they could not afford to reject PCC invitations outright, they cOl,lld indeed hold their ground and not be coerced into any real bargaining. Instead, they developed and employed clever strategies for avoiding substantial concessions while paying appropriate lip-service to the goal of resolving the conflict in co-operation with the Commission and the United Nations.
