Authorized Talks

Once again, the pseudorealists and diplomats think that Abbas is any position to negotiate with Olmert. Abbas and Olmert have authorized new talks.

Abbas is hoping that a charade by creating a West Bank Palestinian parliament will change matters. It will not. Nor will new elections, which are sure to be contested by Hamas who will most assuredly call them illegitimate should Hamas not win them.

The PLO Central Council, which met in Ramallah on Sunday, is expected to vote to dissolve the current Palestinian Legislative Council [PLC], which is dominated by Hamas. The council is also scheduled to call for early parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories.

However, it's unclear how such elections would take place in the Gaza Strip, which is entirely controlled by Hamas.

Several Fatah officials have also called to dissolve the PLC, which has been paralyzed since Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip in June.

The move is set to deepen divisions among the Palestinians and further consolidate the split between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It is also likely to hamper efforts by some Arab countries to patch up the differences between Fatah and Hamas.

Carl in Jerusalem calls this the two reichlet solution - that Hamas and Fatah will each control their own Jew-free zone in the territories, and each bent on destroying Israel on their own timetables. The only thing that gets in the way is that Hamas and Fatah cannot tolerate the other, and it is quite likely that the Palestinian civil war will get in the way.

Meanwhile, the IAF continues going after the Palestinian terrorists responsible for firing rockets at Israel, killing two terrorists. The airstrike happened to be right outside Hamas leader Haniyeh's home. I doubt that he got the point of the airstrike.

The terrorists continue firing rockets and mortars at Israel, and it is only by luck that more Israelis aren't injured or killed. It certainly isn't from lack of trying. Where any other country would face this kind of daily attack, they would not respond by negotiating with a terrorist entity, but declare war on it and seek to eliminate the threat militarily. Israel is not capable or able to do so because of international pressure to limit Israel's military response, and Israel's political leaders are so beholden to a peace process that lacks a partner for peace that they enable terrorists to continue attacking Israel by their failure to prosecute the war launched by the terrorists against Israel.

The Palestinians continue doing whatever they can to obtain weapons and equipment, including hiding explosives among humanitarian aid shipments.