The author suggests that the framework for teaching and research in the negotiation field be enlarged to include dealing with the obstacles to negotiation and persuading parties to enter negotiations. Negotiation is explained as a four-stage process: defining the problem, producing a commitment to a negotiated settlement, arranging the negotiation, and negotiation itself. According to the author, a major barrier to negotiation in the Arab-Israeli-Palestinian situation is disagreement over what the problem is. While the governments of Egypt, Israel, and the United States declared at the 1978 Camp David meetings that the Palestinian people were the problem, many others today, including the government of Israel, do not accept this definition. Before committing to negotiate, each party must judge that the present situation no longer serves its interests and that the substance of a fair settlement is available. They must also believe that the balance of forces will permit such a settlement. Negotiation is only the fourth phase in a prolonged process where the prenegotiation phases may take more time and effort than the negotiation.