Akiva Eldar

If it were not enough that the government of Israel is not dismantling outposts and is publishing tenders for new construction in the settlements, the latest State Comptroller's Report reveals a phenomenon of approval and funding of projects, including the positioning of new mobile homes, on private Palestinian land.

The lethal terror attack at Negohot on the eve of Rosh Hashanah confirmed the forecasts voiced in holiday interviews. This new year, like the previous three, apparently will belong to religious fanatics and other intransigents rejecting compromise.

What else does the Sharon-Eitam-Lieberman government have to do to make its senior partner, Shinui, understand that in one term it is breaking Labor's record for being a dishrag, as well as Shas' record for cynicism?

Ariel Mayor Ron Nahman of the Likud chose a rude but popular phrase to express his view of the government's strategic horizon: CYA (cover your ass). Nahman was referring to the decision about the separation fence, but the definition is good for practically every other matter that Israeli governments have touched in the last decade.

It took awhile for the comparison to be made between Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein, but it finally happened. The leader of the NRP and minister of housing and construction, Effi Eitam, suggested yesterday that we learn a lesson from the Americans on how to deal with "a mass murderer."

There are those who say that it is wrong to attribute too much importance to domestic politics, since Bush knows that on Election Day, the right-wing Jewish-Christian coalition will not give their votes to the Democratic candidate.

To save us and the Palestinians from distress when the next terrorist attack sends the IDF back to Ramallah, it is worth looking at the opening sentence of the road map - "a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be achieved only through an end to violence and terrorism."

The dozens of new and renewed outposts set up since the government adopted the road map, which are supposed to be removed "immediately" according to the road map, show that even a prime minister as strong as Sharon doesn't dare challenge the extremists.

Without going into the shortcomings of the government's economic program, it is nevertheless possible to say that this is one of the rare cases in which the decision-makers have taken short-term risks for the sake of a shot at an improved quality of life in the long term. But the sense of responsibility, the wisdom and the courage suddenly disappear when it comes to life itself.

Israel's citizenry won't be satisfied with Abu Mazen's thundering silence in Washington on the right of return. To turn the Israelis into partners for the two-state vision, he will have to state publicly and loudly, that the right of the two nations to live in peace takes priority over the theoretical right of people to go back to villages that no longer exist.

Ever since the establishment of the state, and more intensively since Saddam Hussein waged war on Iran, Iraq has been a key element in what has always been called "the eastern front." Iraqi power and Jordanian weakness were the main elements in the 36-year-old bipartisan argument that under no circumstances can Israel give up control over the Jordan Valley.

The cease-fire is playing with fire. In order to limit the danger that it will lead to a third intifada, worse than its predecessors, all the sides involved must stay within the bounds of the current game - stopping the violence and incitement on one side, and stopping construction of Jewish settlements and the separation fence on the other.

The price of a presidential decision to quit the race for an Israeli-Palestinian peace is now listed in local currency. The delivery of the road map and the Aqaba summit have linked Bush to the peace process for good or bad - from now on, any failure will be recorded as his.

The price of a presidential decision to quit the race for an Israeli-Palestinian peace is now listed in local currency. The delivery of the road map and the Aqaba summit have linked Bush to the peace process for good or bad - from now on, any failure will be recorded as his.

"I hope Sharon doesn't evacuate a single outpost. I hope another quarter million Jews settle in the territories." Those aren't the words of a Yesha council member. It was Michael Tarazi, an adviser to the Palestinian negotiating team, who said them.

It is undoubtedly pleasant to hear the word "occupation" emerging from Sharon's lips, but at most, this is a different tone, not a different melody. Had MK Gila Gamliel bothered to inquire into the past a little, she would have discovered that the Sharon is not the first Likud leader to have recognized the occupation.

Why is the road map stirring up such controversy in May 2003, while the Mitchell committee report of May 2001 hardly made waves at all? The big difference between the road map and its precursors is that this time President George W. Bush did not make do with loyalty statements from the prime minister.

What would have happened if before the prime minister decided to postpone his trip to Washington, President George Bush had announced that in light of the rising tide of violence from one side and settlement expansion from the other, he saw no point to an eighth meeting with Ariel Sharon?

One doesn't need to be a wily premier like Sharon to know that no Palestinian leader will give up the ethos of the right of return in exchange for the poor chance of winning a state on 40 percent of the territories. One can only imagine what Sharon would do if Abu Mazen were, indeed, to announce that he was ready to immediately discuss giving up the return of the Jaffa Palestinians - on condition that Israel now give up the right of Jews to return to Hebron.

Is it possible the war in Iraq opened Sharon's eyes and he recognizes an opportunity to become part of the American effort to consolidate the moderate force of sin in the area? Has the fear of an open dispute with an extraordinarily friendly American president pushed Sharon into a corner?

Is it possible Sharon prefers an Arafat irrelevant to the war on terror over an Abu Mazen who is relevant to giving up Beit El? A hint of the answer to that riddle can be found in the panic in the Prime Minister's Office over the possibility that President Bush would publish the road map.

The annual conference of the powerful pro-Israel AIPAC lobby last week disproved the conspiracy theory that claimed the Jews persuaded President Bush to conquer Iraq. According to the same theory, the lobby is now pressing him not to present the road map to put an end to the Israeli occupation of the territories.

It took less than six months in civvies for Shaul Mofaz to learn that "let the IDF win" is a bankrupt doctrine. His support now for a political option is only one sign he understands that the occupation threatens more than the security of Netanya's residents.