Israel Matzav

Deal?

Eventually resigning Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert will meet on Sunday with 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen amid what one news outlet calls 'signs' of a 'secret deal.'

Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet on Sunday amid growing signs that the Israeli leader is trying to complete the outline for a new Arab state before he leaves office. PA sources said they will discuss the status of Jerusalem and the PA "right of return" demand that involves allowing millions of foreign Arabs to immigrate. Water resources also will be discussed.

Could someone please call Shas and convince them that Jerusalem is 'on the table'?

American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hinted a deal is in the works during her visit to Israel this week. At her meeting with Abbas in Ramallah, she "proposed new ideas related to the peace process," Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rdneh said. "The coming weeks will be very decisive," he added.

Prime Minister Olmert is taking advantage of the summer vacation, when most Israelis are vacationing, the Knesset is out of session and he is free to act without worrying about keeping his coalition government together. The Prime Minister already has said he will step down from office after the Kadima party chooses a new leader in primary elections next month.

He recently said that negotiations with the PA must be kept secret and not in the eye of the media.

The entire country is on vacation this week. School starts on Monday. The Knesset is out of session until after the Jewish holidays in late October (yes, this is the consequence of allowing the Olmert-Barak-Livni-Yishai government to survive the last session), but can be brought back into special session at the request of thirty members.

Hafith Barghouthi, the chief editor of the daily Hayat Al-Jadidah, wrote on Wednesday, "It seems a political 'meal' is being cooked on fire behind the scenes…. The fact that Rice met with both negotiation teams separately, then together proves what she said in the press conference about both sides abstaining from negotiating in front of the media. All this indicates that the negotiations are serious," he wrote.

And the fact that the Israeli media didn't notice or didn't report it makes it all the more likely that the Israeli media are covering up so that Olmert can work behind the scenes.

Putting an agreement in writing, regardless of its being impractical to carry out today, would be significant, a PA negotiator told WorldNetDaily reporter Aaron Klein this week. The negotiator said, "Papers are very important. It puts limits on the new prime minister…. Olmert told us his goal is to reach an agreement on paper."

The next prime minister is not likely to be as pliable as Olmert - unless Livni wins.

Some of you may be wondering about Olmert's motivations given that it is now clear (well, maybe) that his political career is over. I can sum his motivations up for you in one word: Vindictiveness.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:52 PM