Israeli TV wonders whether the region is at 'the gates of a huge political process'

"Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli TV has described the active diplomatic movement in the region as preparation for a great political step. Israeli TV Channel Two wondered if the audience still remembers what the meaning of the word peace is, and asked if Israel is at the gates of a huge political process. The fundamental issue is Tel Aviv's acceptance of the Saudi initiative, as Israelis do not call the initiative the Arab initiative.

According to a report presented by the TV, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came to the region in order to mediate between Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President Abbas, and between Olmert and the Arab moderate leaders. According to the report, the US is supporting the moderate Arab countries more than in any previous stage. It added that the American efforts are strong and deep in order to remove the Saudi initiative's paragraph which speaks about the Palestinian refugees' right of return.

The TV said that US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, David Welch, said that the atmosphere is very positive in spite of reports to the contrary. Israeli political analyst Ehud Ya'ari said that the politicians in the US, Israel and the Arab countries are 'cooking up a big political meal', but he was not sure if they will be able to translate that into practical steps and 'get the region out of the state of tension'.

in an interview with the head of security and foreign affairs in the Israeli Knesset, Tsahi Hanegbi, Israeli Channel Ten and other analysts said that the visits of Rice and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon at the same time to the region was not a coincidence.

Hanigbi spoke positively about the Saudi initiative and the need to cancel the right of return in it. He also pointed out that Israel will do its best to make the Roadmap and Bush's vision as the alternative to the Saudi initiative. In spite of that, he also said that Israel will not withdraw to the 1967 borders. He added that even the Israeli leftists are not calling for that any more.

When he was told by one of the journalists that therefore it appears that Israel is dealing with the initiative from a tactical point of view, Hanigbi retorted that, "let us use dynamic instead of tactical." "