Enemies Within and Outside

While Israel has arrested two Arab Israelis on terror related charges stemming from thwarting a plot to attack Israeli soldiers, there are those who complain that an Israeli operation against Hamas in Gaza will put a crimp on the peace process.

No word on whether this will have a similar effect.

Jordan is busy complaining about Israel's plans to build 300 homes in East Jerusalem at Har Homa. If that name sounds vaguely familiar, it's because Har Homa has been in the news before. Construction at Har Homa raised a stink in the 1990s, leading to rioting and demonstrations.

Meanwhile, Hamas and Fatah are sparring over everything from fuel shipments to using charities as front groups for terrorist fundraising.

Both agree, however, that the impediment to peace is Israel's existence.

UPDATE:
This is another item that the diplomats will be sure to ignore. The Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council has passed a law that makes any concessions on Jerusalem illegal. The law, which was approved by first reading, also defines such concessions as a crime of high treason.

Well, this simply codifies Hamas' existing theological and ideological position on the matter, but it once again demonstrates that Israel simply does not have a partner in peace that can be negotiated with.

UPDATE:
Not to be outdone by Hamas, Fatah's Abbas has announced that he would not accept provisional borders of a Palestinian state because he feared they might become permanent. Such an idea had been raised at Annapolis, and he rejected it. No counterproposal was given.

Figures:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday he has rejected the concept of a provisional Palestinian state out of concern that the temporary borders of such an entity would become permanent.

Abbas told Palestinian lawmakers that during last week's Mideast summit in Annapolis, Md., the idea of a provisional state was brought up, but he turned it down — although it is a key part of the internationally backed "road map" formula for creating a Palestinian state.

If you refuse to accept a provisional state, which is a necessary part of the roadmap, can you still be negotiating in good faith? No. Absolutely not.

This was never about negotiating in good faith. This is about taking apart Israel in bits and pieces. They have no interest in a provisional country of Palestine; no more so than in 2000. Seven years and hundreds of dead later, and the Palestinians are in no better position than they were before, and an intractible conflict continues because the Palestinians refuse to accept a two-state solution even as the diplomats push for exactly that.