Ashrawi recounts that Dennis Ross (a senior State Department official,
and head of the US delegation to the Middle East) asked her about rumors of back and declared that "if there are secret talks we know nothing about, you cannot bring their substance to bear on these talks" 231 The reluctance to involve the United States stemmed both from the fear leaks and from concern that the United States would insist on an active role in the negotiation process. For the Israelis and the Palestinians it was important that negotiations be direct (Beilin 1994, Larsen 1995).