Israel-Palestinian Talks A Success Because....They Agreed To More Talks

This is the beauty of diplomacy (smart and otherwise)...there's always another day, another meeting, another agreement which will save the day.

The next round of talks has been scheduled for the 14th and 15th of this month and according to CNN's Ed Henry, that's apparently a big deal.

Officials close to #Mideast talks told me last wk key barometer of success would be whether there was specific sked for 2nd round of talks

Why so soon for round 2? Because things are going so well or they just wanted to shoehorn them in before Israel's self-imposed settlement freeze expires on the 24th?

Meanwhile back in the real world, Hamas says, have fun in DC guys but don't expect anything to change back home.

Operations of resistance will continue and the measures by the occupation and Fatah will not block them," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.

Abbas is to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the State Department later on Thursday for the first direct peace talks for 20 months, but Hamas remains opposed to negotiations with Israel.

"Mahmoud Abbas does not have the right to speak for the Palestinians, nor to represent them and therefore, any results will not be binding on the Palestinian people," Zuhri said.

This is the problem with the American and European approach to Israel and the Palestinians. The Israelis have been told for decades they must make tangible concessions to people like Arafat and Abbas in the name of peace. In return all they ever get are promises the Palestinian side can not and will not be able to deliver on. That's assuming the Palestinians really ever wanted to honor their commitments, which is debatable at best.

Going back to the Madrid Conference, the Oslo Accords, the Wye River Plantation summit, the Gaza pullout, the Gaza war, and even the latest Hamas attack leading up to this round of US presidential legacy building talks, Israel is simply held to a different standard than the Palestinians.

This may make for good political theater in Washington, London and Paris but in the real world, it means nothing will ever change. If you really want to see "peace in the Mideast", it needs to begin with forcing the Palestinians to get their act together internally and accept Israel as the Jewish state. Pull that off and the rest might just follow.

Until then? Set another meeting date and declare victory. Rinse, lather and repeat.

posted by DrewM. at 02:11 PM

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