Israel Matzav

Western-looking 'Prime Minister' says no compromises

Western-looking 'Palestinian Prime Minister' Salam Fayyad announced on Saturday that there will be no compromises with Israel, including in 'east' Jerusalem. Fayyad was speaking to he National Conference for the Strengthening of Palestinian Popular Activity against the Separation Wall and Settlements in Ramallah, which is seeking to encourage violent demonstrations against Israel's 'security fence' in the Ramallah area.

Fayyad added that "the establishment of a Palestinian state on all territories occupied in 1967, chief among them East Jerusalem" remains the sole viable option for guaranteeing peace and stability in the region.

"We strenuously reject all the solutions being proposed by Israel's leaders, such as solutions involving interim arrangements,"

"We have no intention of continuing with the formula of interim arrangements and of accepting a state of strips of territory that have no territorial contiguity."

The prime minister added that "We learned the lessons of the first Intifada and its results. We will act to reach a comprehensive agreement on the basis of resolutions by the international community and we will reject every attempt to once again enter this whirlwind of negotiations without results and long-term arrangements."

Israel's Robert Aumann won a Nobel Prize for his work in game theory. In The Israel Test, George Gilder quotes Aumann as saying that Israel and the 'Palestinians' are like two people bargaining over who will get $1000, who must reach an agreement before they can leave the room. The 'Palestinians' keep saying they want $900 and the Israelis keep saying that we want $500. Until we are willing to stand up to the 'Palestinians' and say that we want $900 or $1000 (and really mean it), we are going to lose that game every time. Paradoxically, the more we urgently need peace, the more we are going to get responses like Salam Fayyad's.

What could go wrong?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:23 PM