Spanish FM: Olmert, Abbas have 'very good basis for agreement'

[shira]

Spanish FM: Olmert, Abbas have 'very good basis for agreement'

By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent

Tags: peace talks, Palestinians

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is seriously considering Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's proposal of an agreement in principle on the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos told Haaretz Monday after he met with the two leaders.

"My conclusion from the talks with Olmert and Abu-Mazen is that the discussion and the proposals are extremely positive. I think that they are very close. I am convinced that these peace talks are going to be irreversible from what they have achieved. Whatever happens in Israeli internal politics and in the U.S. administration - both sides and the international community need to work to make them irreversible," Moratinos said.

snip

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1021403.html

[shira]

1. Now what will the meme be?

Hmmm....this must be bad news for the so-called far-far, left "peace camp". What will they say now? I can just imagine.

"This must be a trick. Israel is never serious about peace. Abbas is a zionist sympathizer and collaborator working against the best interests of Palestinians who demand real 'justice'. No way Olmert, a Sharon hack, would ever do what's right. Etc., etc.

Oh....what will we do if these 2 nations strike an agreement and we cannot blame Israel for all the world's ills anymore? No more settlements? No more occupation? Oh....NO !!! Who will I rant against next? I may have to look for another hobby or line of work dammit!"

Of course, some on the pro-Israel far, far right side will claim a lame duck Olmert is giving everything away to terrorists for a paper agreement.

Let's see who's in the real peace camp, shall we?

[oberliner]

2. Do you think something will come of this?

It's so hard to be optimistic, especially considering the internal political turmoil for both the Israelis and Palestinians right now.

[shira]

3. Yes

Yes, I think there’s hope and reason to be optimistic. Recently, Olmert is saying Israel had better do something before there is a binational state, pogroms initiated by settlers against Palestinians cannot continue, and no more “greater Israel”. Duh…finally, right? But good stuff, nonetheless. All this can be said perhaps due to Olmert having nothing to lose. His term is ending with no hope of re-election. This is a prime time to drop all pretenses and go for everything.

Abbas on the other hand is finally proving to be a partner in peace who is showing he can and will impose law and order.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1021014.html

There's a partner, but who cares?


By Avi Issacharoff


Tags: West Bank, Israel


A new security reality has been developing in the West Bank in recent months, one that has been virtually ignored by the Israeli press. The chaos that once reigned in the West Bank's cities, villages and refugee camps has vanished, replaced by newly invigorated Palestinian security forces. In the 14 months since Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority has managed to revive a concept almost unknown to residents of the territories in recent years: law and order.


Things are also looking brighter in Jenin:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1221142462404&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
(note the joint Israel/Palestinian economic effort, Jenin-Gilboa industrial park…the kind of peaceful economic initiative that Arafat never wanted during his watch)


Abbas has a short timetable (maybe a year) until he’s possibly out of power (Arafat didn’t have to worry about this). It’s basically all or nothing for Abbas too. The status quo in the W.Bank isn’t very desirable. Things were far better before Intifada 2. At the very least, it would be best for Palestinians to get back to a time when there was no barrier, no checkpoints, stronger economy, etc. Striking some sort of peace deal with law and order restored gets them back to at least that point, much quicker than doing nothing at all, when things were far better for all Palestinians.

Also remember that this time, there’s a security barrier and more checkpoints – unlike in 2000. With the possibility of peace this time around, it will be far more difficult for the terrorists to try and thwart the process - try as they may. Things are quite a bit different this time around, 8 years after Camp David/Taba. It’s much more difficult for the bad guys to play the “terrorist card” and scuttle this process.

Finally if Abbas is able to make a deal with Israel, there’s still Gaza. But once Gazans see that this can be done and they see the benefits as well as prospects for a better future, they may be able to influence Hamas somehow to go for the ride as well. They may get pissed off if Hamas doesn’t make any moves toward one sovereign Palestinian entity and opts for more of the same misery. You see, once there is a sovereign Palestinian state, the money will FLOW into Palestine from the international community – hoping to make a new peace irreversible. As long as Abbas and W.Bank leadership tries to maintain law and order, it will hold up. Gazans will want some of that international funding as well.

The only people pissed off at these prospects would be outsiders who’d want Abbas to keep holding out for more, in order to humiliate Israel or cause them to suffer more (all for ‘justice’). Plus, if a deal is struck, what will all the anti-Israel people do for a hobby or profession? All they can hope for is that terrorism “breaks out” again for some dumb reason (pure antisemitism?) so that they can start blaming Israel again – this time for attacking an established sovereign nation. Some assholes can always hope for the worst, right?