Summit Talk

So, we're in the midst of yet another Middle East summit and Israel is once again making concessions that do not appear to make sense for Israel's national security. The Quartet is meeting in Jerusalem to discuss the situation. Among the issues to be discussed is naming outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair as envoy to the region:

There was no official statement released after the meeting of the foreign diplomats, known as the quartet. A proposal to name Mr. Blair to a key new position for the regions has been endorsed by President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Heading into the meeting, a United Nations spokesman said the envoys had “no set agenda” and would discuss “recent developments and the way forward,” according to The Associated Press.

While there has been no formal announcement that he would become the envoy after stepping down as prime minister on Wednesday, Mr. Blair, speaking in London today, said that a negotiated settlement on the issue of Palestine is “essential” for world peace and he would do “whatever it takes” to help achieve a lasting solution.

“Anybody who cares about peace and stability in the world knows that a lasting and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue is essential,” he said in a news conference, according to remarks published on the prime minister’s Web site. “As I have said on many occasions, I would do whatever I could to help such a resolution come about.”

As the representative of the quartet of world powers, Mr. Blair’s appointment would signify the most visible attempt at laying the groundwork for a Palestinian state since President Clinton worked with Yasir Arafat and Ehud Barak in 2001.

Yes, and we know how well that worked out in 2000. Camp David exploded in Clinton's face - Arafat got nearly everything that had been demanded of Israel and not only rejected the proposal, but never ever so much as offered a counterproposal. Instead, Fatah and the Palestinians launched yet another Intifada.

That should be the backdrop for any future negotiations on the subject - demanding the Palestinians start living up to their obligations, rather than forcing Israel to make still more concessions. Those concessions have gotten Israel no peace, and have reduced its ability to defend itself from terrorist attacks (see Gaza withdrawal or the disengagement from South Lebanon).

Hamas still holds Gilad Shalit and his health situation is still unclear. He has not recovered from his wounds sustained when he was captured a year ago. Well, they probably would have been healed had Hamas released him months ago, but that's not going to happen unless Hamas gets Israel to make still more concessions along the lines of prisoner releases. Egypt's Mubarak says that Shalit's release depends on calm in Gaza. No, it depends on whether Hamas can be forced to release Shalit without Israel having to release terrorists in exchange. Shalit could be released tomorrow if Hamas wanted to, but it knows that Shalit's value lies in the ability to obtain concessions from Israel that threaten Israel's security down the road - prisoner releases (both in the immediate form of terrorists back on the streets and the precedence of what happens when Israeli soldiers are captured).

Rockets continue to be fired into Israel from Gaza, including one that landed in a schoolyard in Sderot.

Israel has already announced that it would release 250 Fatah thugs from Israeli jails, in a bid to prop up Abbas, whose own thugs have no problem carrying out terrorist attacks against Israel when they're not enriching themselves or fighting with Hamas. Netenyahu says that the prisoner release was a mistake, which is true, but Bibi doesn't have a problem with allowing the Badr Brigade to come to Abbas's rescue. The Badr Brigade, yet another force of Fatah thugs, are currently in Jordan.

There is one possible reason that Bibi has no problem with this deal (and this is purely speculation) - getting Fatah all in one place makes it easier to track 'em down going forward should things go sour. It would keep Israel and Jordan on the same page as they've had closer relations than Israel has with any other country in the region.

Israel allowing Fatah to bring in more thugs eases the problem for Jordan - and the question then becomes what is Israel getting in return. There's got to be something that isn't getting reported in the media to account for it.

UPDATE:
The Army of Islam has issued a list of demands for the release of Alan Johnston. They want three jihadis released - including a spiritual leader of al Qaeda held in Britain and an al Qaeda thug responsible for hotel bombings in Amman, Jordan that killed dozens, and another jihadi spiritual leader being held in Jordan.

This suggests that the Army of Islam's links to al Qaeda may be far stronger than previously acknowledged. Hamas has also been implicated in Johnston's capture, so this bodes poorly for all involved. Al Qaeda definitely wants to increase its footprint in Gaza, and they've found a willing fellow traveler in the form of the Army of Darkness.

UPDATE:
We're beginning to find out just how some of these news outlets are able to get the news reports - and the attendant bias - because they're in bed with the very terrorists we're supposed to be fighting. Like those who would rather not know how sausage is made, the British would rather you not know what goes into making BBC news reports - and how tied into the jihadis they really are. In this case, the BBC is employing Hamas thugs.

It must hurt something fierce to see how Hamas has repaid that close relationship with the ongoing capture of Alan Johnston.

You can be sure that this likely violates all kinds of British law, not to mention journalistic standards, but what's a few laws or standards when they've got an anti-Israel biased scoop to run.