Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., March 06, 2008 Adar1 29, 5768 | | Israel Time: 00:48 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Putting the strategy to the test By Haaretz Editorial Tags: Ehud Olmert, Hamas  Dozens of rockets are fired every day at southern communities, people are being killed and wounded and struggling to retain their sanity in the face of a threat that disrupts their daily routines, and all the while, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is meeting with Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala) in an effort to reach a peace agreement. This is the Olmert government's diplomatic strategy. But in order to learn whether it stands a chance, it needs to finally be put to the test. If there is indeed a moderate Palestinian leadership with which we can reach a peace agreement that would win support from the world, and perhaps even from a majority of Palestinians, and if such a deal might weaken Hamas, then even if it is only an agreement "to be put on the shelf" until it can be implemented, it ought to be put on the shelf as soon as possible. There is no point in drawing the process out until the parties have agreed on every detail, since the longer the talks drag on, the more detached the negotiators become from the reality in which they operate, even if their intentions are good. The negotiating teams have been meeting several times a week for more than four months now. They are not making do with former agreements that were almost signed - not even with the Clinton framework, which came closest to being signed. This time, they want to discuss every issue thoroughly and finalize every detail that might someday torpedo the agreement's implementation. Advertisement At the same time, the public has the feeling that this is no more than an academic exercise. The issue most troubling to Israel is who will be handed the keys when the Israel Defense Forces pull out of the West Bank. Currently, two Palestinian entities are dealing with Israel: one via dialogue, and the other via force. Hamas is too strong for anything to be decided without it, but too extreme for any agreement to be reached with its representatives. If there is any expectation that the signing of an agreement would produce momentum for peace that would tip the balance in favor of the moderates, it must happen soon, before the blood that is being spilled further exacerbates the hostility between the parties. According to this diplomatic worldview, the peace talks born in Annapolis are a life vest for the region's pragmatists. At the moment, it seems as if the Palestinian national movement that aspired to an agreement on two countries living side by side is barely alive, while the movement that considers a state alongside Israel insufficient controls the Palestinian street. Calls for giving up on the idea of two nation-states and replacing it with a single binational state are being heard from both the European left and academic experts on the Middle East. The two-state solution has been eroded by years of settlement activity that blurred the historic partition lines. Ariel Sharon, Tzachi Hanegbi, Tzipi Livni and Ehud Olmert spent too many years in Likud. Now they are trying to pick up the remnants of the milk that has been spilled. The greatest concern is that another year will go by, there will be another election, more blood will be shed, and the talks will not even produce an agreement for the shelf. There is no sense that the government is investing all its efforts in this, or even that the prime and defense ministers are pushing the negotiators. The prime minister must immerse himself completely in these talks, not express doubts to foreigners about the negotiators' ability to achieve their goal by year's end. He must either wash his hands of Annapolis or invest his all in it Bookmark to del.icio.us   Girl power Female MKs learn martial arts in order to defend themselves against sexual assault. Not Jewish enough U.K. Jewish school gets sued for barring pupil over mother's non-Orthodox conversion.   1.   when jews talk ab. peace,they always throw 15:40  |  vukovac RENO 29/02/08   2.   Palestinian leaders 16:45  |  Jimby 29/02/08   3.   Palestinian leaders 16:48  |  Jimby 29/02/08   4.   Test? 22:19  |  P. J. Casey 29/02/08   5.   It was a farce, you know, a comedy 23:02  |  Navy Vet 29/02/08   6.   Haaretz dead wrong 23:30  |  marcel 29/02/08   7.   Israel needs a kick in the arse 12:00  |  RedStarYeast 01/03/08   8.   The Dead End Called Annapolis 17:44  |  Norman F Birnberg 01/03/08   9.   Hurry! Give away West Bank so all Israel can be like Sderot! 23:57  |  Dave Neil 01/03/08

Today Online Eight killed in terrorist attack at Jerusalem yeshiva Responses: 97 Olmert: Talks with Syria worth serious consideration Responses: 93 Settlers agree to leave several illegal West Bank outposts Responses: 110 Gaza humanitarian situation said at worst point since 1967 Responses: 206 Soldier killed in strike on IDF jeep near Gaza border Responses: 134 More Headlines 00:29 Eight killed in terrorist attack at Jerusalem yeshiva 23:58 Abbas slams Jerusalem attack; Israel: Peace talks will go on 00:42 Jerusalem yeshiva student: I shot the terrorist twice in the head 23:58 6 Islamic Jihad militants killed in separate IDF actions in Gaza 22:05 Soldier killed, three others hurt in attack on IDF jeep near Gaza border 18:20 Hamas: Cease-fire deal must include West Bank 20:21 Swastika daubed on grave of 18th-century rabbi in Poland 20:50 Who leaked the details of a CIA-Mossad plot against Iran? 18:27 U.K. Jewish school sued for barring pupil over conversion 20:53 UN Human Rights Council condemns IDF actions in Gaza 23:51 Barak refuses to exempt 1,000 Haredi men from army service Previous Editions Select Day 06 mar 05 mar 04 mar 03 mar 02 mar 29 feb 28 feb 27 feb 26 feb 25 feb 24 feb 22 feb

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