The hot-air summit

HAARETZ

"Yitzhak Rabin would probably have called the three-way summit that will convene on Monday in Jerusalem by a term he favored, "bablat" (roughly "hot air"). Because nothing will come of this summit. Not peace negotiations, not a diplomatic agreement, and if Condoleezza Rice does not bang on the table, no easing of restrictions for the Palestinians either.

Ehud Olmert can enjoy the innovative aspect of a meeting with Rice and Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), or of staying at a hotel in Jerusalem instead of on the shores of the Red Sea, as in the days of his predecessors. But what about Abu Mazen, who for years has been dragging from summit to summit and repeatedly hearing those same declarations about "beginning the negotiations" and about a better future? In May 1996, Abu Mazen headed the Palestinian delegation to the opening ceremony of the final status talks in Taba. At the time, he called for the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and for a "just" solution to the refugee problem. Uri Savir, the head of the Israeli delegation, responded with a vague proposal about "separation between the nations, with the aim of achieving cooperation." Without borders, without refugees, without Jerusalem.

Exactly the same talk was heard prior to the present summit. As though nothing had happened in the 11 years that have since passed: neither Camp David nor the intifada and the suicide attacks, neither the disengagement nor the rise of Hamas. Abu Mazen continues to talk about a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, and the changing Israeli leaders respond with vague slogans about a "diplomatic horizon."....

And then came the "Mecca agreement" to form a national unity government between Fatah and Hamas, saving Olmert from great embarrassment. Abu Mazen embraced Khaled Meshal and proved, as Olmert has been claiming since the beginning of his term, that there is no partner on the Palestinian side. Rice insisted on coming to Jerusalem, and Olmert declared that he would turn the summit into a field trial. Ariel Sharon used to preach to Abbas that he should fight terror, and Olmert will demand fulfillment of the "Quartet conditions" and the release of Gilad Shalit, as well as the cessation of the firing of Qassams and the smuggling of arms into Gaza. As a partner of Hamas, Abu Mazen will find it difficult to claim political weakness as an excuse for inaction.....

Olmert is the great successor of Sharon, and he is even more successful than his predecessor at presenting inflexible positions behind a mask of moderation and openness. He is sensitive to the nuances of the international community, woos its leaders and enlists them in imposing his conditions on the Palestinians. The Jerusalem summit will go down as another tactical victory for Olmert's "yes, but" policy, but will in no way bring us closer to a solution to the conflict. The only consolation is that Rice will come to the region this time in a small plane, thus cutting down on fuel and air pollution on her way to another unnecessary journey. "