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Minister Avigdor Lieberman
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| By Israel Insider staff November 28, 2007 |
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PM Ehud Olmert will be coming down from the glamor of his trip to Annapolis to face skepticism of Israeli politicians. Indeed, the most credit he seems to have received is in appreciating the fact that by insisting that West Bank chief Mahmoud Abbas control Gaza before progress could be made toward a Palestinian state, he had set the bar impossibly high, and therefore Israel would not really be expected to make concessions.
Whether he can stand on that insistence in the face of American pressure remains to be seen.
Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman dismissed the Annapolis Summit as "a terrific cocktail party and a fantastic photo-op," but said reports that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had ruled out formation of a Palestinian state until Abbas regained control over Gaza from Hamas.
"This will be the biggest headline that will come out of Annapolis," he said, smug that his efforts to minimize damage to Israel had succeeded, adding with a wink and a smile that the chances of Abbas overthrowing Hamas in Gaza were "less than slight."
"There is no chance that he can regain control of Gaza," he said in an interview with the Knesset Channel. "As long as he is not in control of Gaza, he cannot claim to represent anyone. In the West Bank, it's our security forces who are in control. Because he is so weak, our minimum requests are more than he can accomplish."
Another Minister in Olmert's own party also regarded the idea of reaching a peace treaty in a year was ludricous. "Stage one is the Road Map, to which the Palestinians will be have to adhere. The Road Map stipulates a two-year timetable, and the Palestinians have not met it. The timetable was unrealistic to begin with. It is still unrealistic, but it sets a direction, and what will eventually decide the outcome will be the Palestinians' performance."
Dichter added that while he appreciates the sincerity of the Palestinians' intentions, "Their performance amounts to zero."
Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu was less sanguine about Olmert's ability to withstand pressure. He told the Likud faction in the Knesset that Israel had given up on demanding Palestinian reciprocity. "For real dialogue and real peace, strong partners were necessary on both sides, but neither Olmert nor Abbas fit that bill," he said. "The Palestinian Authority is weak and unwilling to lift a finger to stop terror. This process will unfortunately not lead to peace but to the dangers of more concessions that will threaten the essential interests of Israel. We require different partners and a different government."
When a member of the faction suggested Israel was being subjected to American pressure, Netanyahu disagreed. "I don't think there is any American pressure," he said. "There is only Israeli submission. If an Israeli leader had said Israeli security requires standing up for A, B, C or D, I don't think the current US president would have stood in his way." |
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