Mideast peace process, a hard nut for weak Bush
Updated: 2008-01-09 23:18
With Islamic Hamas, which was labelled by both Israel and the United States as terrorist group, controlling the Gaza Strip, Abbas only effectively governs the West Bank. It is doubtful that the lame Abbas could strike any deal or make any compromise with the Israelis under the circumstances.
The word of Prof. Reuven Hazan of the political science department at Hebrew University of Jerusalem may make of the situation clear. "We don't need the American president to push us (to make concessions)," he said, adding that "What we need is a viable partner on the other side that is willing to combat terrorism, and teaches Israelis that when we get out of the ( Palestinian) territories, the conflict doesn't come that much closer to our homes."
For Olmert, the situation is not better as he is leading a rather shaky ruling coalition.
Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman threatened on Tuesday that he would pull his right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party out of Olmert's coalition government if Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams begin talks on core issues.
The core issues are considered to be the three most complex and difficult ones: borders of a future Palestinian state, return of Palestinian refugees and the sovereignty of east Jerusalem.
On Monday, the negotiating teams of the two sides met to finalize the agreements on the framework of the negotiations. According to the deal, all the core issues of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict will be discussed in a special committee headed by the head of the two negotiating teams, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qurei.
Just one day prior to Bush's arrival, during their second meeting after Annapolis meeting in the United States in late November 2007, Olmert and Abbas agreed to instruct their negotiating teams to hold talks on core issues, which will be monitored by the two leaders during the progress of the negotiations.
At Annapolis, Olmert, Abbas and Bush promised to make "every effort" to complete the Israeli-Palestinian agreement by December 2008.
However, the efforts by the two leaders confronted great impediment immediately.
Apart from the right-wing Lieberman, Israeli Minister of Industry and Trade and leader of the religious Shas Party Eliyahu Yishai also warned that Shas will quit the government if Olmert makes a decision to divide Jerusalem.
"The Prime Minister has to make a decision," Yishai said, " Either he brings up Jerusalem, and then he won't have a government, or he retains Jerusalem as the 'pinnacle of our joy' and doesn't discuss it."
Olmert's government is based on the support of the five coalition parties' 78 lawmakers, including 12 from Shas and 11 from Yisrael Beiteinu.
If both of the two parties were to quit, the government would fall short of a majority of the 120-member parliamentary legislature.
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