Mitchell’s challenge isn’t so much getting to “yes” on an agreement but merely getting to the table While in Ireland all sides were exhausted and were willing to take bold steps to begin negotiations  such as John Major quietly dropping the UK’s vow not to “negotiate with terrorists” and beginning talks with Sinn Fein and Sinn Fein’s acceptance of a status short of a united Ireland  in the Middle East the split between Hamas and Fatah  Israel’s refusal to negotiate with Hamas  and Hamas’ refusal to move down from its maximalist stance means simply getting to the table with all relevant players seems almost impossible