The Jerusalem Post has reported that PA President Mahmoud Abbas is considering dissolving the PA and declaring the failure of the peace process with Israel, in order to see if the US and other parties will exert enough pressure on Israel to stop settlement construction and recognize the two-state solution. Which has prompted Israeli President Shimon Peres to channel his inner Kate Bush.
But according to Ha’aretz, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has reached a secret understanding with the Obama administration over US recognition of a unilateral palestinian declaration of independence within the 1967 borders, which would render any Israeli presence across the Green Line (including in Jerusalem), an illegal incursion to which the palestinians would be entitled to engage in measures of self-defense.
Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)
9:45PM: Quote of the day:
“I wouldn’t be able to speak with Netanyahu so comfortably but I would speak comfortably with Bashir. I say comfortably “What you’ve done is wrong”. And I would say it to his face. Why? Because a Muslim couldn’t do such things. A Muslim could not commit genocide.”
– Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
6:25PM: Here’s Hamas’ response to Mofaz’s peace plan:
The Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip said Sunday that they would never negotiate with the “Zionist enemy”, hours after Kadima MK Shaul Mofaz presented a plan to hold talks with the group and establish a Palestinian state in 60 percent of the West Bank within one year.
In its official response, Hamas called Mofaz’s offer “Zionist vulgarity” and said it would never recognize Israel or give legitimacy to the occupation.
“Any negotiation with the Zionist enemy regarding rights and legitimate recognition would only give it further excuse to commit crimes,” said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.
My spidey senses detect some Hamas opposition to his plan.
3:50PM: Today’s prize for Most Likely to Fail Math goes to..
A woman holds placard reading ‘US plus Israel equals a monkey’ as she joins hundreds of Islamist Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia movement members in an anti-US and anti-Israel rally in front of the US embassy in Jakarta on November 8, 2009.
2:56PM: Someone’s been drinking the foolade.
Knesset Member Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) on Sunday presented his plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state in temporary borders, saying such a plan is needed “because the relative calm is dangerous, and at its end hides a violent and bloody conflict.”
Speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv, Mofaz said, “If (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu won’t implement this plan, I will do so when I become prime minister.”
The MK, a former IDF chief of staff, also said Israel should consider negotiating with Hamas.
“How can it be that six months have passed since Netanyahu’s Bar-Ilan address and there is still no plan in place?” Mofaz told the press conference. “If Hamas is elected and chooses to negotiate – Israel must conduct dialogue with any group that changes its behavior.
“Meanwhile, Hamas continues to prepare for the next round (of fighting). They must realize that if they plan to continue firing on communities, their fate will be sealed,” he said.
The main point of Mofaz’s plan is the establishment of a Palestinian state in temporary borders on 50% – 60% of the Palestinian territory in the West Bank, mainly in Area A and Area B, which are under Palestinian control. The next stage, according to the plan, will be negotiations on the core issues, including the future of Jerusalem, the Palestinian refugees and the permanent borders. Mofaz is opposed to dividing the capital.
Mofaz is willing to commit to the world, and even give guarantees, that the final Palestinian state will not be formed on less than 92% of the territory.
Brilliant! Negotiate with terrorists who are openly attacking us (and are known to negotiate short-term “ceasefires” to regroup before attacking us again), reward them for their terror and then warn them not to continue along this path. (Come to think of it, this is not much different than the Oslo process. We would just be negotiating with the terrorists who don’t wear the Armani suits).
Thankfully, Mofaz is not the Prime Minister and hopefully has little chance of being so after revealing his plan.
8:20AM: US President Barack Obama’s videotaped message for last night’s Yitzhak Rabin commemoration.
Many people – including yours truly – have noticed Obama’s statement “Israelis will not find true security while the Palestinians are gripped by hopelessness and despair.” While I don’t agree that it justifies terror, it certainly does seem to attribute blame to Israel. It is also patently wrong – Israelis will not find true security while her neighbors hold on to dreams of removing her from the world map.
6:05AM: Hamas has commended the current Israeli government for its efforts in trying to reach a swap deal for Gilad Shalit.
But al-Zahar said Abbas’s resignation had nothing to do with talks on Shalit. “The current Israeli government is continuously occupying itself with a swap deal, in contrast with the previous government, which would send an envoy and then disappear for months,” he said.
