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If not Annapolis, then what?
By Haaretz Editorial
Tags: Palestinian Authority, Israel 

Gideon Sa'ar, Likud's most fluent spokesman, believes that after Hamas took over Gaza, Israel should have understood the trap it had fallen into and "run for its life" instead of getting into another round of talks in Annapolis.

The question is, of course, where does Likud want Israel to run to. Likud has no solution to the conflict with the Palestinians and has made do for 40 years with taking the wind out of the sails of every agreement.

From this point of view there is an unsurprising similarity between statements by Sa'ar and Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal. Each sees concessions to the other side as a trap.
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Each prefers the status quo to a historic compromise.

Likud never drew the borders of the country as it imagines them. The settlements were intended to blur the previous border and disrupt the placement of a new border. Instead of dividing the land into two states for two peoples, the right proposes waiting for the messiah.

The concern is that the day is not far off when the world will demand that Israel grant civil rights to the residents of the territories it occupies, if Israel is unwilling to withdraw from those territories. The possible solution of one state for two peoples has already been voiced by the European and American left. Those who do not want two states for two peoples may hasten the end of the Jewish state.

At Annapolis, Israel has a partner. It may be weak, it may represent only part of the Palestinian people, but finally there is another side that sees eye to eye with most of the people in Israel, a side that opposes using terror to achieve political goals and is willing to give up some of its original aspirations to reach an agreement.

The refusal to negotiate with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his prime minister, Salam Fayad, is like spitting in the faces of the moderates.

If there is any chance to strengthen the moderates in the Palestinian street, it is only by presenting achievements.

Those who do not make do with Fatah will get more Hamas, and according to the U.S. secretary of state, they will in the end get Al-Qaida in the West Bank.

The claim that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has "changed his skin" because in the past he was in favor of unilateral withdrawal is not an insult, but a compliment. A statesman must suit his actions to a changing reality.

Unilateral withdrawal was never an ideology but an ad hoc solution, an attempt to limit the occupation as much as possible as long as there was no partner to an agreement. Now the Palestinian political reality has changed, partly for the better and partly for the worse.

The Annapolis conference is an opportunity to forge an agreement with people who are willing to sign it, while hoping that the entire Palestinian people follows suit.

The concessions that are called painful are known to all. To create a border, Israel will have to withdraw from settlements scattered through the heart of the Palestinian population which never had justification or purpose.

There is no agreement other than the one signed at Camp David seven years ago, and the question is whether there is someone who will be able to implement it.
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  1.   The TRUTH is the TRUTH even if it hurts (badly)..... 10:40  |  Swiss (Dino) 07/11/07
  2.   No wonder why the majority of Israeli will vote to Likud 10:42  |  e.m 07/11/07
  3.   IT WILL FAIL AND PALESTINIAN WILL BE OK, 10:56  |  indrajaya 07/11/07
  4.   isn`t it the same editorial that we read awhile ago 10:58  |  joe 07/11/07
  5.   No wonder why the majority of Israeli will vote to Likud 11:00  |  e.m 07/11/07
  6.   Likud vs Hamas 11:03  |  Gabe 07/11/07
  7.   If not Annapolis - Le Deluge 11:14  |  Tzfonit 07/11/07
  8.   A disgusting article of moral equivalence!!!!!!!!!! 11:15  |  Ben Uziel 07/11/07
  9.   swiss dino i do wonder at you 11:22  |  toblerone 07/11/07
  10.   Haaretz Editorial Do You Read What You Write? 11:27  |  Gil 07/11/07
  11.   agreement on what haaretz! jordan is arab palestine 11:34  |  victor hardman 07/11/07
  12.   Israel should have run for it? Where? 11:35  |  Tzfonit 07/11/07
  13.   Gabe #6 11:45  |  S 07/11/07
  14.   Haaretz Editorial Pure Propaganda! Well isn`t it? 11:51  |  Gil 07/11/07
  15.   Annapolis will fail and let nobody act surprised 11:56  |  Ernst 07/11/07
  16.   # 9 toblerone, my thoughts and best wishes are always with you ! 12:06  |  Swiss (Dino) 07/11/07
  17.   As long as... 12:12  |  Anne 07/11/07
  18.   Re e.m. #5 12:23  |  Esther 07/11/07
  19.   Annapolis 12:36  |  klas 07/11/07
  20.   #3 Indrajaya 12:42  |  Yitz 07/11/07
  21.   Let the positive prevail... 13:08  |  Esther 07/11/07
  22.   moral equivalence 13:10  |  daat y 07/11/07
  23.   # 20, YITZ 13:13  |  indrajaya 07/11/07
  24.   To Klas in Brazil - Way of Kilter 13:23  |  T 07/11/07
  25.   Lying "Haaretz",Abbas hasn`t given up on the "right of return" 13:24  |  Absolute Sweden 07/11/07
  26.   the borders 13:27  |  ROB OF MELBOURNE AUS 07/11/07
  27.   Klas repeating Finland`s Communist Party mantra on Israel 13:39  |  Absolute Sweden 07/11/07
  28.   To Klas in Brazil - Way of Kilter 13:39  |  Tzfonit 07/11/07
  29.   Haaretz is unsurprisingly similar to Iran 13:53  |  Herbert Kaine 07/11/07
  30.   Swiss (Dino) 14:11  |  Tess 07/11/07
  31.   Hamas will still be there 14:15  |  Nemesis 07/11/07
  32.   Does the Palestinian leadership recognize Israel`s existence by 14:15  |  Ehud Amrami 07/11/07
  33.   Moderates on both sides... 14:19  |  Tess 07/11/07
  34.   THE ONLY SOLUTION: RETAKE GAZA, W.BANK, PUT AN END TO TERROR))))) 14:20  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 07/11/07
  35.   Blood Libel by Haaretz 14:23  |  Vladimir 07/11/07
  36.   Where does the info come from?! 14:36  |  Esther 07/11/07
  37.   http://www.ariel-sharon.org/ 15:00  |  check it out 07/11/07
  38.   Haaretz hits rock bottom! 15:03  |  Isoroku 07/11/07
  39.   Leftie Esther,your Big Guru "Prof" Pappe teaches in England 15:07  |  Absolute Sweden 07/11/07
  40.   What a strange editorial 15:11  |  Patricia 07/11/07
  41.   haaretz panders to the arabist apologists 15:13  |  peter 07/11/07
  42.   So why didn`t Likud take over Gaza when it was under our control? 15:15  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 07/11/07
  43.   Oh Tess I really thought you had some brains 15:17  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 07/11/07
  44.   "Shame on Haaretz" 15:24  |  Nemesis 07/11/07
  45.   lies are lies, despite dino 15:27  |  peter 07/11/07
  46.   Wishful thinking and libels 15:30  |  ER 07/11/07
  47.   #33 Tess, Ah, like Ilan Pappe for example 15:37  |  Tzfonit 07/11/07
  48.   # 43 Margie 15:37  |  North American 07/11/07
  49.   Israelis should make up their minds... 15:44  |  Dutch Dirk 07/11/07
  50.   Margie.... 16:00  |  Tess 07/11/07
  51.   Likud suffers from a vision problem 16:36  |  Tosefta 07/11/07
  52.   Likud as a virtual partner for peace 16:39  |  Tosefta 07/11/07
  53.   O Swiss (Dino) And I Thought You Were the Smart One! (#1) 16:49  |  Gil 07/11/07
  54.   O Swiss (Dino) And I Thought You Were the Smart One! (#1) 16:50  |  Gil 07/11/07
  55.   If not Annapolis then what? a Status Quo.... 16:51  |  Sandy 07/11/07
  56.   Hello Dutch Dirk 16:51  |  Patricia 07/11/07
  57.   "..a side that sees eye to eye.." That`s just journalistic fraud! 17:00  |  Dr. L. Brnd 07/11/07
  58.   #49 dutch dirrk and posing the answered question 17:02  |  victor hardman 07/11/07
  59.   Hate and incitement? Not surprised 17:02  |  Ilan 07/11/07
  60.   Ha`Aretz title asks a valid question 17:10  |  Jacob Blues 07/11/07
  61.   Tzfonit Ben Ami so what are you willing to give for peace? #12 17:12  |  Gil 07/11/07
  62.   actually, Tzfonit.... 17:12  |  Tess 07/11/07
  63.   I`ve never heard such garbage in all my life 17:14  |  observer 07/11/07
  64.   O Swiss (Dino) And I Thought You Were the Smart One! (#1) 17:18  |  Gil 07/11/07
  65.   you just proved,leftis`m is a mental disease 17:27  |  chaim schonbrun 07/11/07
  66.   `North American` 17:27  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 07/11/07
  67.   swiss the dino devolves into a weasel - an example 17:27  |  CK Tan 07/11/07
  68.   Tess 17:29  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 07/11/07
  69.   THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JEWISH AND ARAB EXTREMISTS:WHOSE LAND 17:34  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 07/11/07
  70.   Haaretz is unsurprisingly a bolshevik leftist terorist paper 17:34  |  Joseph 07/11/07
  71.   tosefta "likud as a virtual partner" 17:40  |  yirmiyahu 07/11/07
  72.   A bad peace deal is alot worse than no peace deal 17:44  |  CK Tan 07/11/07
  73.   annapolis is wrong 17:47  |  michael 07/11/07
  74.   Likud suffers from a vision problem 17:51  |  Tosefta 07/11/07
  75.   Likud as a virtual partner for peace 17:51  |  Tosefta 07/11/07
  76.   GOOD EDITORIAL 17:58  |  Shimon 07/11/07
  77.   what utter nonsense 18:11  |  ed 07/11/07
  78.   Tess and Margie on Terrorism 18:13  |  Ibrahim 07/11/07
  79.   Margie, you got me there.... 18:22  |  Tess 07/11/07
  80.   Ibrahim 18:23  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 07/11/07
  81.   Olmert, the incompetent statesman 18:24  |  Tosefta 07/11/07
  82.   BTW, Margie, there is one other option... 18:31  |  Tess