Danny Rubinstein

After 60 years, the State of Israel is strong enough to desist from appealing the right of return at a time when it is clear that actual return is impossible.

In the IDF struggle against terrorism, victory is part of failure. It is impossible to win because every raid, assassination, arrest and roadblock stir rage and hatred and broaden the pool of conscripts for terrorist cells.

The reason for the latest disruption in Hamas' relations with Fatah can be found in a brief video clip aired by an Israeli television station on Rosh Hashanah eve.

You can pressure Abu Mazen and his associates, and persuade them to make concessions and compromise, but it won't advance a thing. What you have to do is persuade the people, and that can only be done through the economy.

The information that PA officials in the West Bank and Hamas officials in Gaza are disseminating about each other must be examined carefully.

Abbas categorically refuses to talk with Hamas. The Arafat affair that fell into the Jordanians' lap was an excellent opportunity to get back at him, and they took advantage of it.

When Hamas loses hope and it becomes clear that Abbas is far from achieving the minimum that the Palestinians are demanding, then the terrorism and violence almost certainly will be renewed.

The roadblocks and fences have long been transformed into a vision and ideology for most Israelis, who stand united on this issue. This vision is based on despair and disappointment. If we are to strive toward achieving an agreement with the Palestinians, we must think about how to achieve the opposite: How to bring down the walls of separation.

For a moment this past weekend, it seemed Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was getting stronger, while Hamas and its leadership were in a slump.

Oskar Schindler, who saved the lives of 1,200 Jews during World War II, was buried in Jerusalem. His grave has become a popular destination for thousands of people from all over the world.

Sooner or later Hamas will fail in its war against Israel. But that does mean that there will then be a return to the days of Oslo and the two-state vision.

It is doubtful that Hamas will succeed in taking over the West Bank as well, but there is no doubt that without Hamas, there isn't going to be any diplomatic agreement here.

As great a danger as a Hamas regime in Gaza represents for the State of Israel, it represents a far greater danger to the Palestinian Authority.

There is clearly no military option for Israel in the Gaza Strip.

After the events of last week there is no way that Haniyeh and the Hamas leadership will succeed in conducting a dialogue with Abu Mazen.

The Gaza Strip is going in the direction of the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon where the Muslim extremists have situated themselves: there is no government presence and no law and order.

During the 40 years since 1967 there have been ups and downs in the relations between Israel and the Palestinians. Today they are at a low point, perhaps the worst of all.

The direct cause of what is happening now in the Gaza Strip is that the traditional Palestinian leadership (i.e. the top echelon of Fatah) was not prepared to transfer authority to the elected Hamas leadership.

The Palestinian organizations are now rejecting the Israeli attempt to separate the West Bank from Gaza, and are promising that for every Israeli action in the West Bank, they will retaliate in the Strip.

What could topple the Palestinian government within a short time is a different issue: the negotiations between Fatah and Hamas on participation in the Palestine Liberation Organization.

In this case, the struggle in store for the Arabs of the occupied territories would be directed to achieving equal rights and equality within the State of Israel. This would include establishing full unity between them and the Arab Israeli minority - a unity that does not exist today. If that happens, then who knows what will occur: Azmi Bishara could very well go down in history as the "Palestinian Herzl."

A senior Gaza official has raised the idea of a dramatic act on Israel's part: assistance to the Palestinian refugees in Iraq.

From the Palestinian perspective, it would appear, the main problem is not recognition of Israel, the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the violence and the terror or even the problem of the refugees and the right of return. The problem is Jerusalem.

If we assume the Palestinian unity government will not last ?(a common assumption?), another election race in the PA will be unavoidable. The demand for Barghouti's release will grow.