As long as it's just talk

Haaretz

Contributed by Lucia

".....The Israeli official was quite skeptical of the proposal by Rice and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to present a "diplomatic horizon" that would strengthen Abbas and the Palestinian moderates. If the idea is to clarify to Abu Mazen what the contents of a final-status accord might be, so that he can go and present it to his people, that would be risky, said the official. Abbas is not going to obtain the right of return and the 1967 borders, and the discussion of Jerusalem will be postponed until a later date. If Abu Mazen brings this to his public, Hamas can claim he sold out the Palestinians and, rather than strengthen Abbas, this would only hasten his fall......

And now for the analysis. From what the official said, it appears Olmert is going for a diplomatic process with the Palestinians primarily for the sake of the international support it will bring him. The newspaper headlines may say, "They're talking about a final status accord," but there won't be much content behind them. The parties' positions are very far apart, maybe too far. Abbas is insisting on "all or nothing," that is, a final-status accord without interim steps, but Olmert will not risk overly bold moves that could bring down his government......

Israelis who have spoken with U.S. officials recently came away with a similar impression. They talk about a lot, but expect little. Rice's visit at the end of next week, and the summit with Olmert and Abbas, will revive the diplomatic buzz. No more than that......

He (Eitam) asked his American interlocutors to consider the following: Look at Gaza, and then look at the West Bank. There, in Gaza, where the occupation ended, there is only chaos, gunfire, bloodshed and war. But in the West Bank, it is relatively quiet. Not that Eitam is happy about the withdrawal from Gaza, but, he told the Americans, a lesson can be drawn from it. The occupation may not sound very nice, but it turns out that "for the Palestinians, it's preferable to what's happening now in Gaza." Eitam suggested that the best scheme to follow is this: In the coming years, the goal should be to preserve the status quo. No initiatives, no withdrawals, no promises, no deals. "Until when?," a dubious Congressman asked him. "Until there's someone to give the key to," Eitam replied. And he thinks this will take a very, very long time....."