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Jerusalem Debate / They're both right By Avi Issacharoff In the most recent dispute between Israel and the Palestinian Authority about beginning negotiations over Jerusalem, both parties are in the right. It's true that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed during their last meeting that the subject of Jerusalem would be deferred until the end of negotiations, after other issues are resolved, like borders and the settelements. Even Abbas' associates confirmed that he had agreed to Olmert's request on the matter, taking into account the prime minister's sensitive political position. But those associates are not satisfied, to say the least, with Olmert's policy of running off to tell everyone last week about the understandings he reached with Abbas - understandings that were supposed to remain secret. Advertisement Olmert, presumably, had his own considerations. In light of the slim chance that the negotiations will actually pan out, he preferred once again to damage Abbas' standing among the Palestinian public in order to strengthen his unstable coalition, even if just a little bit. It must be said that the Palestinians have almost no expectations for the negotiations to be successful. Most of the Palestinian journalists and opinion-shapers believe the current talks are not going anywhere and that both sides are trying to create an appearance of a political process in order to pacify the American administration. Nonetheless, the exposure of the agreement to defer talks on Jerusalem caused great consternation in the Muqata and among the PA negotiators. For months, they have been saying that the talks address all the issues, certainly including Jerusalem. Ultimately, they say, any final-status agreement will include Palestinian sovereignty over the Temple Mount. And so Olmert's rush to the media exposed Abbas and his associates to criticism from their own Fatah movement and the rival Hamas, and they were seen as spineless when it comes to talks with Israel. This led Abbas' advisers and spokesmen to issue a spate of denials regarding any such agreement. All the same, the Palestinians were right when they said that discussions over Jerusalem had not been taken off the agenda. The heads of the negotiation teams, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qurei, are discussing everything, including Jerusalem. But Palestinian sources say their talks deal in generalizations and that the real negotiations have yet to begin. One Palestinian analyst said Abbas realized a bit late that deferring talks on Jerusalem delays the negotiations as a whole, especially on the settlements and borders. But it could be that both leaders, aware of the limits of their power, find it easier to continue negotiations without bringing them to a decisive point on any issue. Abbas and Olmert realize that they won't be able to push through a deal that includes dramatic concessions - because of Gaza and Shas - so leaving Jerusalem off the agenda will ensure that the negotiations never reach a dangerous intersection. It seems Jerusalem and Ramallah are still trying to figure out how to be not just right, but also clever. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Land of milk and honey Israeli model Bar Refaeli poses for Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition. If the earth's a-rockin' Shas MK blames gays for recent earthquakes in the region.

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