Abdullah met in the afternoon with EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, after which the royal palace issued a harsh criticism of the Jewish Country:

“We cannot keep quiet in face of the Israeli steps that are meant to change the status quo in Jerusalem and cleanse it from its Arab citizens – both Muslims and Christian.”

The ruler of the Hashemite Kingdom added that Jerusalem was the “red line” that should not be crossed.

Meanwhile Brazil’s president has placed a wreath on the tomb of Yasser Arafat. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited the late Palestinian leader’s grave Wednesday during a trip to Ramallah. He also called on Israel to dismantle the West Bank security barrier and lift its blockade on Gaza. He said that his country condemned Israel’s decision to build an additional 1,600 apartments in east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as their future capital.

The Brazilian leader said that he wishes to play a bigger role in Mideast diplomacy:

“The region is important to the world and the negotiations are in need of the intervention of new elements, and we can help with this.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinians have no preconditions for returning to the negotiating table. “We simply want the implementation of international resolutions and the Road Map.”

The Palestinian president urged Mr. Silva and the international community to work towards lifting the Israeli siege on Gaza and releasing Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
On Tuesday, Avigdor Lieberman boycotted meetings with Silva because the Brazilian did not visit the grave of Theodor Herzl.

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Bibi, in his Knesset remarks, said that

“Israel knows it has a great friend in Europe in Berlusconi.”

He also stated that

“this meeting will give momentum to relations between our two countries.”

“We appreciate you. We embrace you. We love you.”

said Netanyahu.
Silvio Berlusconi said he dreams of one day seeing Israel join the European Union as a full-fledged and influential member state.

“As long as I am one of the shapers of politics, my greatest dream is to include Israel among the European Union countries,”

said Berlusconi shortly after arriving together with top Italian ministers in a joint cabinet meeting with their Israeli counterparts.

Berlusconi informed that he only holds joint cabinet meetings with the most important European nations. He said his visit demonstrates that he views Israel as part of Europe.

Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu welcomed the Italian delegation warmly, and announced that the Jewish country is lucky to have a friend like Berlusconi in a region traditionally unfriendly to the Jewish people and to Israel.

The visit kicked off with a gala dinner at the King David Hotel then the following morning Berlusconi held working meetings with Lieberman and Netanyahu, where Lieberman hoped to enlist Berlusconi’s help in applying stronger European pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear program.

He also met with opposition chairwoman Tzipi Livni, before visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem; about which he said the remembrance of what had happened in his and other European countries made him feel

“like someone punched me in the gut.”

A further joint cabinet session happened at the Prime Minister’s Office, where the premiers and ministers reviewed bilateral agreements and decided on areas of cooperation in the coming year, with an aim of deepening relations between Italy and Israel. A press conference was held afterward.

On Wednesday morning Berlusconi addressed the Knesset in a special session, and then opened an exhibition of seven original sketches from Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus. The Italian premier will end his visit in the Holy Land with a lunch with President Shimon Peres at the President’s Residence. From there he will go to Bethlehem for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Berlusconi will be leaving Israel on Wednesday evening.

Silvio Berlusconi is among Italy’s richest men, estimated to be worth $6.5 billion.
He won his third term as prime minister in 2008, two years after his center-right coalition was voted out.
Mr. Berlusconi, 72, owns a business empire that spans media, advertising, insurance, food and construction.
He is also the owner of Italy’s most successful football club, AC Milan, admits he has had cosmetic surgery, has fought off repeated corruption allegations, and has been dogged by a sex scandal.

Israel is lucky to have such a good friend in him.

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The long-term result wished for the freeze was the hurrying along of the peace process; but the short-term is costing thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank their livelihood. Their voice ironically is being drowned out by what they see as a pointless exercise.

Father of seven, lucky to find work one day a month, Walid Mustafa said:

“Work in the settlements has decreased dramatically in the last few months – it’s nothing like it was before. But our lives haven’t changed for the better and the leaders aren’t any closer to peace, so what’s the point?”

He continued:

“The settlement freeze is temporary anyway. The Israeli government is made up of settlers, and they will build again soon enough.”

Mustafa estimated that about 80% of camp residents who work in construction are now unemployed, and those still working are taking jobs for NIS 50 a day ($13) rather than the NIS 150 ($40) they made before Israel put a freeze on construction.

Hardly anybody recognizes the fact that Palestinians who are skilled in masonry, construction, and other relevant trades have built the vast majority of homes in Israel’s controversial settlements.

Fawzi Aqrana, a Palestinian from Nablus said:

“While the politicians dawdle away the months, we have families to feed…Everyone at home in my village knows what I do, and I don’t think anyone judges it. We have to survive.”

Mahmoud Abbas originally rejected Netanyahu’s offer of a 10-month settlement freeze late last year, maintaining his position that the stop-work order should mean that ALL building comes to a halt, and that it must include east Jerusalem. Bibi exempted approximately 3,000 buildings – projects that had already begun.

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The word came from Aziz Dwaik, Hamas’s most senior representative in the West Bank. Go here to add him on your Facebook.

Well, slow down, let’s analyze things a little…

Dwaik’s remarks should be taken in the context of Hamas’s attempts to win recognition from the international community. He was released a few months ago after spending nearly three years in an Israeli prison.
He was among the dozens of Hamas officials who were rounded up by Israel after the abduction of Gilad Schalit near the Gaza Strip in June 2006.
Dwaik put it this way:

“The [Hamas] charter was drafted more than 20 years ago….no one wants to throw anyone into the sea.”

Well, habibi, thank you for clearing that up, ’cause, like, people were beginning to talk.
Dwaik also expressed Hamas’s desire to engage in a dialogue with the European Union. He also confirmed that Hamas was receiving financial aid from Iran. Good to know!

Some might consider Dwaik, as speaker of the PLC, to be the acting president of the Palestinian Authority, sin Mahmoud Abbasce’s term was officially expired on January 9.

These latest remarks were made during a meeting held in Hebron with British millionaire
David Martin Abrahams.

“The fact that there is a possibility for recognition of Israel is a symbolic gesture…We can all look for good in people and we can all look for bad in people. I always look for the good…People might say that I’m naïve, so let them. But I’m prepared to give them [Hamas] a chance because I’ve got faith and confidence in Dwaik and Haniyeh. We can’t allow 1.5 million to be festering in the Gaza Strip while the majority of them are good and well-educated.”

Abrahams said that his decision to engage Hamas was aimed at

“preventing bloodshed on both sides.”

“I recently published an article in the Jewish Chronicleto test the temperature of the water within the Jewish community about Hamas…I found a lot of support among Jews for dealing with Hamas and I was pleasantly surprised.”

Abrahams added,

“Hamas is different from al-Qaida…Hamas is no threat to Western interests.”

During the meeting in Hebron, Dwaik stressed that other Hamas leaders, including Damascus-based Khaled Mashaal and Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, have voiced their support of the idea of establishing an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 boundaries.

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At an

“We must explore every possibility to advance a regional peace arrangement, based on an agreement with our Palestinian neighbors, based on the Road Map, the concept of two states for two people, and a declaration of an end to this long running conflict.”

He added:

“We once again call on the Palestinian leadership and Mahmoud Abbas to show responsibility to his countrymen and to return to the negotiating table, in order to achieve the hoped for peace.”

Also present as the ceremony was IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi. He pointed out the dangers and threats that the Jewish Country faces.

“At this very hour a number of threats are gathering, both near and far away.”

The IDF chief went on to say that

“standing against all these threats…are these same newly-minted pilots, along with the IAF family, to defend Israel.”

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Israel sees this as a threat to the grueling peace process. Mohammed Shtayyeh, a member of the Fatah Central Council in Ramallah said:

“The Israelis impeded negotiations, and therefore we are left with only this option in order to safeguard our national project…We have been left with no other choices and nothing to lose…How can Abbas or any other Palestinian leader survive in this context without political developments? This is the only thing we can offer our people now. The time is right.”
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, “There is no substitute for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and any unilateral path will only unravel the framework of agreements between us and will only bring unilateral steps from Israel’s side.”

Another angle of the debate is the media factor. Who will be giving support to who and why?
Have a look:

EDITORIAL IN ISRAEL’S JERUSALEM POST
So rather than bargain in good faith to build a viable accord, Saeb Erekat and Mahmoud Abbas are betting on an outside imposed solution. Their way will not bring reconciliation, mutual security and peace, but doom yet another generation of Israelis and Palestinians to more bloodshed.

EDITORIAL IN JORDAN’S AL-DUSTOUR
The policies of occupation, especially continuing settlement-building, have caused the failure of negotiations and have led the peace process to a gridlock… The idea of declaring the establishment of an independent Palestinian state has emerged strongly during this stage as a sole option. This is a legitimate right.

BEN KASPIT IN ISRAEL’S MA’ARIV
Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in Jerusalem yesterday but his words were aimed at Ramallah. The threat was explicit. Your unilateral steps will lead to unilateral steps on our part… In the end both sides threaten but they do not really mean it

EDITORIAL IN SAUDI AL-WATAN
The Palestinian leaders, especially those who have been supporting the Oslo accords, came to a consensus that 18 years have gone astray and that Israel has been stalling in order to achieve its goal, which entails setting up a Jewish state with Jerusalem as its eternal capital.

HASAN AL-BATAL IN PALESTINIAN AL-AYYAM
The strong Israel is afraid of weak Palestine. In reality, it is afraid of its own nightmares as expressed by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman… He sees that the establishment of a Palestinian state will push Israel back to the 1967 borders, only for the Palestinians to ask for autonomous rule in the Galilee and the Negev after that.

ALUF BENN IN HA’ARETZ
Netanyahu has returned to power after a decade and is again fighting a Palestinian threat to declare statehood in the West Bank and Gaza Strip… If Netanyahu acts correctly, he will again be able to take pride in his ability to foil Palestinian declarations of statehood, just as he did during his first term as prime minister.

ONE JERUSALEM
Given the chaos in the region, such a UN vote as that which accepted Israel as a sovereign nation in 1948 is both premature and irresponsible. A state was given to the Palestinian people before further territories were captured by Israel forces in 1967. However the proposal went refused. To think that a new country, justified by a unilateral United Nations vote would not fall either immediately into a civil war or let power slip into the hands of Hamas, is insane. The plan spells war and why should Israel be forced to expose her sovereign territories like that?

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“We advise him to … face the Palestinian people and tell them frankly that the path of negotiations has failed. Halt negotiations with the occupation and take practical steps toward reconciliation.”

Hamas and Abbas have led rival governments in Gaza and the West Bank for the last two years, after Hamas’s bloody and violent seizure of the coastal area in 2007.

Abbas cites frustration with the lack of progress in peace negotiations with Israel as his main reason for stepping down.

The Head of the PLO Executive Committee, Yasser Abed Rabbo said on Thursday, that they rejected Abbas’ announcement; and the presidents of Egypt and Israel, the king of Jordan and Israel’s defense minister all called Abbas on Thursday, urging him to reconsider.

The Palestinian consensus is that West Bank settlements are ruining their dream of independence. Some 500,000 Israelis now live in Samaria and East Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim crucial for building their own independent state.

The Obama administration has not been able to pressure Israel to halt its construction in the “West Bank”. And if the U.S. cannot get Israel to budge on that, they will also fail in other negotiations involving the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.

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Let’s take a quick analysis of this picture, comparing it to the old one back in 1993. First of all, Obama looks a lot less happy then Clinton. Oh, but wait a minute: So does Abbas, and Bibi for that matter. They all look fairly miffed, like nobody really wants to be there, or they’re all constipated and need some fiber capsules. It’s hard to tell.

What’s really interesting, though, is that Israel is on the same side of the picture as she was in 1993. The left side. Abbas is on the right, as Arafat was. What is the significance of this? Take a look at any popular book on body language. What it will tell you is that to show the palm of your hand is an expression of capitulation, whereas to show the back of your hand is an expression of power and domination. When Bibi is on the left side of the picture, shaking Abbas’ hand with his right, he shows the back of his hand in the photograph. Abbas is left open-palmed and helpless.

I solute Bibi on this move, whether or not he did it accidentally.

But then again, it doesn’t really matter all that much. Nobody wanted to be in that picture in the first place anyway. And back home, everybody is griping about it. Following the meeting, Minister Without Portfolio (AKA Minister of Absolutely Nothing – there are a few of those in Bibi’s government) Benny Begin (son of the late PM Menachem Begin) called the chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat a “wild beast of a man” quoting the Bible in describing Ishmael.

Senior PA officials who came along with Abbas to New York called it something of a “complete failure,” in that Obama is reportedly no longer demanding a total settlement freeze from Israel. Further, Bibi and Abbas reportedly came back from the meeting with totally different conclusions, Bibi’s being that negotiations will proceed without preconditions, and Abbas’ being that negotiations will only resume after a total settlement freeze. At least they both came away with conclusions at all.

MK Danny Danon, a Likud lawmaker, said that now that Obama failed to obtain any concessions from Arab countries, Netanyahu must restart unlimited building in Judea and Samaria. That’s the right. And on the left…

Even Yossi Beilin, architect of the Oslo Accords and former Meretz chairman, is all hot and bothered. In his words, “It was clear that the participants were not enthusiastic about the meeting. It wasn’t a meeting of people who want to make peace.”

What would give you that idea? Could it be the looks on their faces? So I repeat the question posed in the title of this article. How long will this game of picture-taking and delay go on until somebody makes a move, somewhere, on some sort of principled stance involving any kind of conviction?

Could be a while. I wouldn’t count on anybody currently in office moving anywhere significant.

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Anyway, here’s what the War and Peace Index found. 66% of respondents believe that building should continue everywhere in Jerusalem, since Jewish sovereignty over the city is indisputable. Those who disapproved of this idea were primarily Labor and Meretz voters, who don’t make up much of the electorate any more these days.

This data could prove, as they say in the media every other day, to be a “stumbling block for the peace process,” as Mahmoud Abbas yesterday suddenly announced that he is no longer interested in East Jerusalem. He now, as reported by Israel Hayom newspaper, wants the whole thing. Oof. I don’t think giving up the Jewish quarter would be such a popular hit these days in Jewish circles. Maybe we should keep it after all.

In terms of Barack Obama, 46% see him as pro Arab, 31% as neutral, and a whopping 7% as pro Israel. Why don’t these things ever add up to 100%?

What about Operation Cast Lead? That’s a little more confusing, and I don’t really understand it. Apparently, 43% believe soldiers accounts of the war (that they didn’t intentionally shoot civilians and things like that), but 47% do not. However, 76% are of the opinion that no further investigation into the war is required.

Almost half thing that fishy stuff when on, but three quarters don’t want to investigate anymore? This sounds a bit strange. Perhaps there was a loaded or tilted question in there that people got confused about.

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Question: Why? The fact that he was old, decrepit, and suffering from latent Parkinson’s and just died, hasn’t really clinched it for them yet?

He then went on to say that Israel hasn’t kept its commitments to the United States, including giving up sovereignty over eastern Jerusalem and even parts of the Dead Sea.

Question: When was this? I can’t seem to recall when Israel made those promises to anyone. I can remember, though, when Israel actually offered them to the PLO and they refused.

Then things got more interesting. He continued: “Although peace is our choice, we reserve the right to resistance, legitimate under international law.”

Question: What resistance he’s talking about? Really, I’m curious. Peacefully picketing and civil disobedience? Or is it murdering innocent civilians? I’m just asking, because it’s unclear.

Jibril Rajoub, who used to be in charge of the PA police, then clarified and said that “armed resistance” is always an option, and that Israel must acknowledge that. So there goes nonviolent civil disobedience.

Question: What do you mean, Jibril by “acknowledge?” Does fighting back qualify? Or is acknowledgment only sitting around watching buses explode and retreating?

I’ll tell you what, Jibril. I will gladly acknowledge your resistance if you acknowledge Israel’s response to it. Then we can sit down over a cold beer, a la Obama, Gates, and Crowley at the White House and discuss mutual acknowledgment.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Barak said it was important that the platform produced by the delegates will be representative of a wide range of views.

Question: What range of views?

President Shimon Peres, mentioning the convention, said that the Palestinians must remember that like Israel, “they must stay committed to the Road Map and the path of negotiations.”

Question: What happens if they don’t, as in the past 9 years?

The only Israelis expected to attend the conference were MKs Ahmed Tibi and Taleb A-Sanaa (UAL-Ta’al) and Muhammad Barakei (Hadash).

Question: Why are Israeli Knesset members allowed to attend a summit about armed resistance against Israel?

Is anybody listening?

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Carter was given a tour of areas where major damage had been inflicted during the January Operation Cast Lead military action, in which the former President said ” the severity of damage inflicted here has brought tears to my eyes”. Carter also said that the war had brought “death, destruction, pain and suffering to the people here”. He wasn’t taken on a tour of either Sderot or other places in Israel where the same terms could also be applied, however.

In regards to Gaza’s present situation, where most of the damage has been left in tact as a “showplace” for VIP visitors such as the former President, Carter said: “tragically, the international community ignores the cries for help, while the citizens of Gaza are being treated more like animals than like human beings”.

But it was the remarks made by Haniyeh that his organization would be willing to accept a Palestinian state providing Israel open up the borders with Gaza and “accept a Palestinian State within the 1967 borders” that suddenly brought something very rational to light. When Dr. Haniyeh spoke about the “pre-1967 borders” he forgot that When Israel pulled out of the Strip in 2005, that part of Palestine was reverted back to the 1967 borders. So here is where a possible “two state solution” would work out beautifully! Why not create two Palestinian states, one in the West Bank, called East Palestine and controlled by Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah organization, and the other, West Palestine, controlled by Hamas. Haniyeh and his friends will get their wish in that their “little state” (as Israeli P.M. Binyamin Netanyahu referred to Palestine in his address on Sunday) will be 100% “within the pre-1967 borders”.

As for “East Palestine”, a territorial agreement will be worked out with Abbas and Co. taking the large Israeli settlement blocks into account. Israel will not have to pull out of the entire section of the West Bank and Jerusalem would remain united, with special consideration being given to the people of East Palestine for visiting, living in, and even having some governmental offices in the city’s eastern sectors. The Status of the Old City would remain as it is today, with Jews remaining in the Jewish Quarter and having full access to the Western Wall Plaza. The Wakf Islamic Trust would maintain control of Karim al Sharif , otherwise known as the Temple Mount.

This new “two state solution” should be acceptable to everyone, especially West Bank Palestinians (who really don’t like the Hamas people anyway – and vice versa). And as for Gaza, maybe they can get to rebuilding all the damage incurred to “their little state” which will not only provide jobs for a lot of Palestinian workers but result in their not having to keep all those piles of rubble lying around to “impress” gullible people like Jimmy Carter.

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Condi is still supportive of Israel;

“There has to be an active peace process that can withstand the efforts of rejectionists to keep peace from being made, the people who are firing rockets do not want peace… They sow instability, that is what Hamas is doing… Hamas is doing what might be expected, which is using rocket attacks on Israel to arrest a peace process in which they have nothing to gain”

But, the Hamas control of Gaza is a problem and one that is increasingly making Mahmoud Abbas looking weak. Since Hamas can’t be negotiated with, there is no way to declare a cease fire because a cease fire with a terrorist organization would make Hamas the legit ruler of the PA. In affect cutting off Abbas completely.

Abbas himself is in a bind. He called off talks with Israel on Sunday and then called for a cease fire that he would be the mediator in on Monday. By being the mediator he could claim to be the peace maker and the political leader of the PA. Weather or not Hamas will let that happen remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, “Hot Winter” (the name for the current operation) is rolling along. Hamas is continuing with the rocket attacks on Sderot and in recent days Ashkelon. The military assault by both land and air continue and there is a feeling that they are taking their toll on Hamas. Givaati (the combat unit fighting in the South of Israel) commanders are happy with results. It seems that lessons were learned from the war in Lebanon and that troops have been able to operate well in a very complex environment.

Barak while visiting the North border, sent a message to the residents of Gaza, calling for a cessation of rockets attacks and acts of terror inside Israel. When such activities will cease, the road will open for a different reality of peaceful and neighborly coexistence between the two sides. The activity in Gaza will continue for some time – it will not be a quick solution.

Barak was in the North as part of a “house warming” for 1,700 bomb shelters that were renovated in the last 8 months. The renovation spanned the North of Israel and included Akko, Naharia, Tiberius, Carmiel, Qiryat Shmone, Tzfat, Maalot, Hazor HaGlilit and Shlomi…
Let’s hope we won’t need them….

Hat Tip Picture: Amir Cohen

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Following the beginning of the Second Intifada Palestinian uprising in September 2000, foreign visits took a nose dive; and tourism was further complicated when a number of hard-line Palestinian militants held up in the Church of the Nativity for days before finally surrendering to Israeli army troops who were surrounding Manger Square. Once boasting a large Christian population, Bethlehem is now predominately Muslim. With the main source of income for the city being tourism, the city had fallen on hard times, and has only begun to show signs of recovery in the last couple of years. During the first few years following the historical handshake between Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the U.S. White House Lawn, Arafat himself and his wife, Sulha (a Christian) attended Christmas Eve midnight masses held in the Church of the Nativity. That all changed following the start of the Second Intifada when Arafat became a virtual prisoner in his West Bank Ramallah. headquarters.

To make matters worse, the Palestinian Authority has now been split into two parts, one in Gaza and under the control of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and the other in the West Bank under the control of P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas. Following some improvement in relations between Israel and Abbas’ Palestinian segment, tourism to Bethlehem has begun to improve, much to the relief of Bethlehem’s merchants, many of whom have shops in the center of town not far from Manger Square. Many of the items they sell are exclusively tailored for foreign Christian pilgrims including religious motifs carved from olive wood, jewelry and amulets, carpets and clothing with religious and other logos and slogans connected with the historical legend of the town. As Christmas is the most important time of the year for them, Bethlehem merchants have to bank heavily on a large influx of visitors to tide them through the lean months until summer when tourism again picks up for a while.

For those who want to purchase them, Palestinian flags, pictures of P.A. Authority and Charismatic Arab World leaders, and other nationalistic mementoes are also available.

One of the better hotels in Bethlehem, the Jacir Palace Intercontinental, reported that they are nearly full for the first time in years. “Yes, thank God, we have something to smile about this year”, said Farid, one of the hotel’s reception employees. Concerning what will be happening in the future, “it’s anybody’s guess” said Samir, another hotel employee. And rightly so, as current fighting between Israeli and Palestinian forces in Gaza could well spill over into the West Bank, including Bethlehem. Although the city of Christ’s birth has had fewer problems than other West Bank cities, including Ramallah, Nablus, and Jenin, the situation there during the period immediately after the uprising in September, 2000 was very unpleasant, and the Church of the Nativity suffered considerable damage in the wake of its takeover by Palestinian militants.

Israeli border checkpoints have tried to make it easier for pilgrims to come and go this year as a good will gesture to President Abbas. Still, it isn’t like walking into the Old City in Jerusalem, which for many pilgrims has been an alternative Christmas season destination following the 2000 Palestinian uprising.

In any event, Christmas 2007 does seem to be much better for the citizens of Bethlehem, and is much improved over previous years. And for those who so much depend on this annual inflow of visitors, and foreign currency, they can only hope for the best.

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The report, given by Shin Bet security head Yuval Diskin, contained information that several Palestinian gunmen belonging to Fatah, the Palestinian political organization, had made intensive plans to carry out the operation, and had conducted extensive surveillance operations on the route that the motorcade was going to take, once it entered Palestinian controlled territory. Although several suspects had been detained by P.A. police authorities, most have been released, further dampening relations between Israel and the P.A. The release of prime suspects in this affair, which was alleged to have been cancelled at the last moment, makes government officials wondering about the sincerity of Abbas’s government in entering into any kind of agreement with Israel.

“Israel will not ignore this attempt and look the other way” Olmert was reported to have said. Members of Olmert’s cabinet as well as numerous officials are new saying that with this in mind, the Israeli government should call off it’s participation in the meeting, scheduled to take place in only two week’s time. Israel Foreign Minister Zippy Livni was quoted as saying that the Palestinians had returned to a “revolving door policy in which they say something and do something entirely different altogether.

In addition, many Knesset members have told the Prime Minister that not only should Israel not sent a delegation to the conference, but should seriously reassess Israel’s relationship with Mahmoud Abbas and his government. Members of Olmert’s Kadima political party, including MK Zvi Elkin should halt all meetings with Abbas, and cease any cooperation with P.A. police and other government authorities until those suspects who were released from custody are re-arrested.

Olmert, who had only returned before the weekend from his brief meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and who is currently under police investigation for a number of “legal issues”, must now come to grips with an assassination attempt by members of Mahmoud Abbas’ own civil administration. Right winged Knesset members, especially those like National Union Chairman Effie Etam and National Religious Party Chairman Zvulun Orlev are demanding that Olmert sever relations with the P.A. altogether. Both men also said that Olmert should recite a special prayer of thanksgiving for being saved from possible assassination. National Union party member Ariyeh Eldad even went one step further by suggesting a prayer be said to rid the country of Ehud Olmert’s leadership as a result of his dealings with the Palestinians.

Whether the Prime Minister will heed this advice is anyone’s guess. But in any event, these disclosures have cooled the “atmosphere” considerably between Israeli and Palestinian officials. And down in Hamas controlled Gaza, Hamas leader and former Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, must be enjoying these sudden turn in events.

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Saeb Erakat, the chief negotiator for the PLO, has written a fascinating op-ed piece for the New York Times. In it he explains why he, a supporter of Mahmoud Abbas, does not view Hamas’s victory in the recent Palestinian elections as a setback for peace and democracy in the Middle East.

Of course Erakat manages to slip in a “blame Israel” (such a surprise!) for the routing of Fatah, but he does admit that Fatah needs to do some internal housecleaning in order to regain the voters’ trust. He also seems to think that Hamas’s Islamist platform does not represent the views of the majority of the people, and that Hamas will therefore find it rough going trying to implement sharia (Islamic law) in the West Bank.

Read the whole thing, below, to find out why.

What the P.L.O. Has to Offer
By SAEB EREKAT

Jericho, West Bank

MANY have argued that Hamas’s winning of a decisive majority in the Palestinian Parliament provides yet another setback for peace and democracy in the Middle East. Some have even suggested that it vindicates Israeli unilateralism. I, however, think the opposite is true: A negotiated and lasting peace may now be closer than many of us could have imagined just weeks ago.

The parliamentary elections could be seen as a referendum on the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas, who came to office a year ago after winning nearly two-thirds of the popular vote. Mr. Abbas ran on a platform of job creation, internal security and a negotiated resolution of the conflict with Israel based on two states living side by side in peace.

Many people believe that Mr. Abbas did not deliver. Today, there are fewer jobs, not more; security for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Gaza Strip is worse, not better; and negotiations, like the two-state solution, are stalled.

Mr. Abbas, however, is not ultimately to blame. When he called on Israel to lift restrictions on Palestinian movement and trade within and between Palestinian areas, Israel refused — despite similar calls from the World Bank, the United Nations, the European Union and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The restrictions translated not just into more poverty but also into less security, for Mr. Abbas could not even move police forces within Palestinian territory.

President Abbas did deliver, and largely maintained, a “tahdia” — a “period of calm” between the Palestinian factions and Israel. And he was able to do this despite scores of Palestinian deaths and several thousand military raids and arrests that Israel conducted in violation of its agreement not to undertake such activities. Israel also tightened its control over key territory, resources and markets — primarily occupied East Jerusalem — that we will need to build an economically viable state.

So, President Abbas, the leader of the Fatah party, made a set of campaign promises; the opposite came to fruition; therefore, Palestinians elected the only alternative: Hamas.

In reality, however, the vote was neither a rejection of President Abbas and his peace program nor an endorsement of the Hamas charter. According to recent polls, nearly 70 percent of Palestinians still support Mr. Abbas as president. And 84 percent of Palestinians still want a negotiated peace agreement with Israel. Even among Hamas voters, more than 60 percent of those polled support an “immediate” resumption of negotiations.

The apparent contradiction between Palestinian support for peace and Hamas’s electoral victory is most easily explained by popular anger at the perceived corruption of the never-before-challenged Fatah. Whereas Hamas will now have to accept that the majority of its own voters reject its core ideology, Fatah must now undertake a long-overdue housecleaning to eradicate corruption and regain the trust of the electorate.

While most Palestinians remain committed to peace, they have become disenchanted with a process that has brought them no closer than they were in 1993 to their dream of freedom and independence. In the 12 years since the Oslo process was initiated, Israel has become more entrenched in Palestinian land than ever before. And the international community acquiesced all the while. The electorate punished us all for allowing conditions to deteriorate to this level.

Israel’s accelerated colonization of the occupied West Bank — through which it has routed 80 percent of its wall — isn’t helping. Christian and Muslim Palestinian communities are being destroyed to the absolute detriment of any prospect of a two-state solution.

Recently, Israel’s acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert, announced his plan to determine unilaterally the final borders of Israel, while keeping control of strategic parts of the occupied West Bank: East Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and three major illegal settlement blocs — a plan that would result in the effective end of our state-building project.

Israel’s disingenuous pronouncements that it has “no partner” to negotiate peace, and that Mr. Abbas is “no longer relevant” should be seen in that unilateralist light. The Palestine Liberation Organization, which Mr. Abbas also leads, is the sole representative of Palestinians everywhere and therefore the only real negotiating partner. Its mandate remains unaffected by the parliamentary elections.

If Israel continues to exploit the Hamas victory to claim that it has “no partner” for talks and avoid negotiations — and if the international community remains indifferent — the conflict can only deteriorate.

This would be an unforgivable loss for peace. While Palestinian democracy poses no challenge to the resolution of the conflict, Israel’s “no partner” mantra and the political cowardice of the international community do.

The Hamas victory cannot be allowed to obscure the reality: the Palestinian people want a negotiated peace, and in Mr. Abbas they have a Palestinian Authority president and P.L.O. chairman who shares their view, enjoys a mandate to act and has the ability to deliver. For those committed to reaching a two-state solution, public support on both sides of the conflict likely provides the last opportunity to see our vision materialize. Now we all have a duty to respond immediately to our peoples’ demands for a negotiated peace.

Saeb Erekat is the chief negotiator of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

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