- Now is the time to strike a deal with the Palestinians, says Yossi Beilin, because “the Palestinians have a pragmatic leader who is perceived as weak.� (Haaretz)
- But Fatah’s willingness to negotiate is an illusion, says Nadav Shragai, because its only a tactic toward “the realization of the right of return.� (Haaretz)
- Aluf Benn is concerned about the “growing consensus in Israel that a withdrawal from the West Bank is no longer possible,â€? a position which has says, “comes at a cost – in growing calls for an academic and economic boycott of Israel, in perpetuating the conflict with the Arabs, and in a growing gap between declarations and actions.â€? (Haaretz)
- CAROLINE GLICK says that “Fatah … is a dead horse rigged to a land mine,� and that no deal with Fatah should even be attempted. (The Jerusalem Post)
- Did Abbas actually orchestrate the Hamas takeover, in order to increase his ability to make a deal with Israel? (Haaretz)
- B. Michael argues that “the systematic pounding of the Palestinian Authority’s forces…the persistent and humiliating mitigation of Mahmoud Abbas’ authorityâ€? was all done “to embolden Hamas among its people.â€? But it did not produce the type of “Altalena affairâ€? showdown between Hamas and Fatah that Israel wanted. (Ynet)
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