Palestine is ready to have a unity government as was demanded by the US and Israel. There are still some doubts that this will succeed, as the U.S. and Israel are again threatening not to recognize it.
They are betting on inciting a Palestinian civil war.
By helping to forge this government in Mecca, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia put some serious personal credibility on the solution.
Now Israel’s prime minister Olmert and Sec State Rice are dragging their feet and keep asking for unaccomplishable Palestinian concessions. On Monday a three-way meeting between Olmert, Rice and the Palestinian president Abu Abbas is supposed to take place.
Some say nothing will result from this hot-air summit:
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.
King Abdullah needs some success on the issue or he will lose face and lots of it.
He is in a bind but cannot pressure Israel directly. He has to pressure Washington and demand that the administration put the thumbscrews to Olmert.
By negotiating with Putin over nuclear energy and weapons, Abdullah has already shown Washington and the management of GE and GM some of the instruments available to him. The classic first stage of torture. But so far, I have not seen any U.S. reaction to this.
If there is none and the talks on Monday fail, Abdullah will have to use the only real weapon he has and temporarily shut down some oil wells.
At $80 a barrel the administration and congress may be more likely to ignore AIPAC and be a bit more caring for Palestinian interests.