"Israeli policy won't change with a new PM"

By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani, The Electronic Intifada, 13 August 2008

"CAIRO (IPS) - With Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's recent resignation announcement, the self-proclaimed Jewish state is headed for new leadership. Egyptian commentators, though, entertain few hopes that Olmert's successor -- whoever he or she may be -- will temper Israel's hard-line approach to the peace process.......

.....According to Gamal Zahran, political science professor at Suez Canal University and independent member of parliament, major shifts in Israeli domestic politics represent little more than theater, staged with the aim of pre-empting a final settlement on Palestine.

"Whenever the Israelis come under pressure to reach a workable agreement with the Arabs, they come up with dramatic new distractions, like resignations or early elections -- anything to put off a settlement," Zahran told IPS.

Zahran scoffed at past promises by Olmert -- and backed by US President George W. Bush -- to reach a mutually acceptable final agreement on the outlines of a Palestinian state by the end of 2008.

"Every year they promise the establishment of a Palestinian state, and every time something happens to derail it," he said. "It's obvious: the Israelis are just killing time in order to maintain the status quo."

Echoing a sentiment that has become increasingly prevalent as official negotiations founder, Zahran added: "A Palestinian state will never come into being except by means of armed resistance.""