A great rhetorical asset for the Palestinians had been the claim that international law dictates a return to pre-1967 borders, period, and the firm insistence on complying with international law. In the Malley and Agha account, the problem wasn't that the Palestinians couldn't see accepting a deal that departed from this position. The problem was that, partly because of their mistrust of Israel, they feared that no deal would emerge from Camp David. In that case, if their counteroffer became public record, it would become the starting point for any future discussions; they would have surrendered their prized rhetorical asset and gotten (in their view) little or nothing in return.