Israel Matzav

A-Boo-Hoo-Hoo to spend more time with grandchildren?

Shavua tov - a good week to everyone.

The generally well-informed Khaled Abu Toameh writes in this weekend's Jerusalem Post that 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen is once again considering resigning to spend more time with his family and grandchildren.

Unconfirmed reports in Ramallah this week suggested that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was seriously considering submitting his resignation.

According to the reports, Abbas has reached the conclusion that there is no chance that any kind of an agreement can be reached with Israel before the end of the year. Abbas's belief was enhanced during his last visit to Washington, where he met with US President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Abbas, his aides say, emerged from the talks "depressed and angry" because both made it clear to him that the Palestinians can forget about the possibility that Israel would fully withdraw to the pre-1967 borders.

As one of the aides put it, "The Americans have endorsed the Israeli strategy that there won't be a full withdrawal from the West Bank and the Arab part of Jerusalem. They have also accepted Israel's demand that Jewish settlers would continue to live in large settlement blocs in the West Bank even after a Palestinian state is established."

Another aide said that as far as the PA is concerned, the prospects of achieving a breakthrough in the talks before the end of the year are "zero."

The gap between the two sides remains as wide as ever on most of the crucial issues, especially the "right of return" for the refugees, the future status of Jerusalem and the presence of the settlements in the West Bank, he added.

Abbas flew directly from Washington to Sharm e-Sheikh, where he complained to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak about the US stance. The Americans, he reportedly told Mubarak, "are not serious about achieving an agreement between us and Israel."

Mubarak promised to raise the issue with the US administration and the Israeli government, and advised Abbas to be more patient.

This week Abbas lodged a similar complaint with the Saudis, in the hope that they would also intervene with the US administration.

Abbas's major concern is that failure to reach an agreement in the coming months would seriously undermine his authority, paving the way for a Hamas takeover of the West Bank. One of his top aides quoted him as saying that unless something positive happens over the next few weeks, he will have no choice but to resign and "spend more time with my family and grandchildren."

As I said earlier this week, the problem with the 'Palestinians' is that they are not really looking to reach an agreement. They're looking to impose a 'settlement' on Israel and they are willing to give nothing in return. Let A-Boo-Hoo-Hoo and his friends seethe and moan all they want. When they're ready to understand that they have lost every war they have ever fought and decide that they are therefore willing to compromise on their ridiculous set of demands that would - God forbid - spell the end of the Jewish state, they know how to reach us.

The anonymous 'aide' to A-Boo-Hoo-Hoo was almost as funny.

According to the aide, the Americans and Israelis haven't yet realized that this is perhaps the "last opportunity" to achieve an historic deal between the Palestinians and Israel. "The day will come when the Israelis and Americans are going to miss President Abbas," he remarked. "Whoever comes after President Abbas is not going to be better."

That's right folks: You won't have Abu Mazen to kick around anymore.

If I'm not mistaken, Abu Mazen's children and grandchildren live in the 'Palestinian' state (Jordan) and not in Judea or Samaria. That ought to give him a better chance of dying a natural death and not at the hands of his 'brothers' from Hamas.

Maybe he can take Olmert with him? Nah, that's asking too much.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:35 PM