As Obama’s envoy Mitchell is due to arrive in Israel to begin shuttling between Jerusalem and Ramallah for the indirect peace talks, Israeli media predict that his involvement will intensify American pressure on Israel because Obama cannot afford to lose once his administration is involved directly. Wrong. Obama has lost on many issues, and his loss on this one will, at most, result in a few I-told-you-so’s in the State Department, while remaining entirely irrelevant to common Americans.
The talks are utterly senseless. Abbas rejected Olmert’s offer on Jerusalem and refugees, saying that the “gaps are too wide,” yet Netanyahu offers even less than Olmert did.
Netanyahu is also demanding Palestinian security guarantees, which Abbas cannot deliver. Besides, security is impossible in a situation in which, for example, a plane landing in Palestine could attack Tel Aviv 9/11 style within about three minutes. By the time IAF recognized that the pilot did not err, it would be too late to shoot down the plane.
