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Last update - 11:53 21/09/2009
Avi Issacharoff / Tripartite summit or PR for Obama?
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Mahmoud Abbas, Barack Obama 

The tripartite summit Tuesday between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama is not likely to bring about a breakthrough or so much as a line for the final-status agreement. Both Israel and the PA have been emphasizing at every opportunity that the summit is not about negotiations, but merely a "preliminary meeting."

The subdued tone stems from extra caution on the part of both the Israeli and the Palestinian leaders. Netanyahu faces coalition pressures and concern, and Abbas is losing support by even appearing for the summit without securing his important precondition - a settlement freeze in all of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The summit serves, first and foremost, to provide the Obama administration with a much sought photo-op: Three leaders shaking hands, seemingly getting back to negotiations. This would come against the backdrop of the White House's resounding failure to force Israel's agreement to a complete settlement freeze or to persuade Arab states to make even tentative steps toward normalization with Israel, so a picture of the three leaders together will look like an extraordinary achievement. It might even help Obama and his administration to get the stalled peace process moving, however slowly.
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This is precisely the reason why the PA realized that although Abbas set the precondition of a complete settlement freeze, as the United States demanded, he must now, according to that demand, rescind his condition without getting anything in return. The talks Abbas held in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and in Jordan with King Abdullah II brought home to him just how desperately the Americans need this summit.

Still, it's hard not to wonder about the manner in which the American administration (and even more so Abbas himself) conducted itself over the past few weeks. Abbas stands to lose most from the summit. He stressed to the Palestinian public at every opportunity that there is little point to a tripartite summit before there's an agreement on a construction freeze, especially in East Jerusalem.

Senior PA officials (like top negotiator Yasser Abed Rabbo, who spoke to Haaretz last week) said that going to the summit without a freeze in East Jerusalem was crossing a red line, a surrender to Israel likely to provoke "a third intifada, this time against the PA." Abed Rabbo went so far as to say there was no use in a "tea or coffee" meeting.

The hands of the American administration are not particularly clean. The State Department envoys assured the Palestinians that Washington was on their side this time, and was not going to yield to the Israelis. Only in the last few weeks did Abbas' people in the Muqata find out the White House was, in fact, very understanding of the Israeli demand not to freeze construction in the settlements altogether, and to leave Jerusalem out of the debate.

Abbas was apparently prepared to forgo his dignity rather than replace Netanyahu as the bad boy in the peace process. He understands that no political bounty is likely to come out of the meeting, and that he himself is undertaking a considerable risk.

The Palestinian leader has but two things to comfort him - that the summit falls on the Muslim holiday Eid el Fitr, when the reaction in the Arab media is likely be minimal, and that the tea or the coffee at the summit will be good enough to come all the way to Washington.

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    Upcoming 3-way summit serves, first and foremost, as a much sought photo-op.
      1.   Its Pure PR, There is no substance to Obama only hot air. 03:10  |  Edward 21/09/09
      2.   the peace process 03:13  |  Jack Smith 21/09/09
      3.   Mistaken - the cost is not as much to Abbas as to Israel 03:40  |  Jehangir - Nebraska 21/09/09
      4.   Most of Obamas Middle East policy is PR not expectations. 03:59  |  zionist forever 21/09/09
      5.   Correct analysis.... 04:00  |  Texan 21/09/09
      6.   it`s all PR 04:03  |  Mark 21/09/09
      7.   Abbas must have secured a secret promise from the White House 04:10  |  Yesh Prabhu 21/09/09
      8.   Beyond Chutzpah 04:53  |  Balkenende 21/09/09
      9.   Abbas WHO? 05:14  |  JfromC 21/09/09
      10.   Obama PR 05:19  |  Moshe 21/09/09
      11.   Abbas also has the most to lose from not coming. 06:14  |  netsp 21/09/09
      12.   good place for Abbas 06:15  |  Space 21/09/09
      13.   One last kick in the nuts 06:30  |  Mark Lincoln 21/09/09
      14.   Jehangir, not a bad analysis... 06:33  |  BBSNews 21/09/09
      15.   Space, if they won`t listen to Richard Goldstone... 06:49  |  BBSNews 21/09/09
      16.   sure it`s spin, but talk must preceed action 06:59  |  bar kochma 21/09/09
      17.   Abbas is not the president 07:39  |  yaser 21/09/09
      18.   Higher summits have deeper precipice 08:33  |  Shimon Cleopas 21/09/09
      19.   #7 - what could the White House have promised Abbas? 08:33  |  Jane 21/09/09
      20.   Three Stooges 08:43  |  Solovey Razboynik 21/09/09
      21.   Of course it`s nothing but a PR stunt for Obama..... 09:11  |  Swiss (Dino) 21/09/09
      22.   Mark Lincoln - Texas Education Standards 09:41  |  Mark of Lewiston 21/09/09
      23.   By hurting Abbas, Israel just hurts itself. 10:21  |  Michael 21/09/09
      24.   Pure PR for a failing Presidency. 10:30  |  Stephen. 21/09/09
      25.   Eid el fitr was yesterday 10:32  |  sh 21/09/09
      26.   Jane #18, you will find out in the near future 11:20  |  Yesh Prabhu 21/09/09
      27.   obama 13:30  |  Yaron 21/09/09
      28.   yesh Prabhu 13:47  |  doubter 21/09/09
      29.   #22 Texas Education 18:27  |  Texan 21/09/09
      30.   State 20:05  |  flo 21/09/09
      31.   PR FOR THE USA 23:40  |  Rigoletto 21/09/09
      32.   No talks, no tricks, no deal 02:20  |  Chaim Ben Kahan 22/09/09
      33.   Flo, you are forgetting 04:57  |  sean 22/09/09
      34.   Gotta go with Tex on that one 05:09  |  Jasper 22/09/09
      35.   I`m Shocked & Stunned Jasper 07:16  |  Mark of Lewiston 22/09/09
      36.   Jasper, the two Marl L`s and Texan - I enjoy your talkfest... 08:09  |  S 22/09/09
      37.   Texan re Mark of Lewiston 13:54  |  American in NY 22/09/09
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