Any notion that Israel might be ready for peace has been shattered by its far-right premier, writes Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah Discounting recent suggestions that he might have moderated his extremist views vis-à-vis major contentious issues with the Palestinians, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has reasserted the rejectionist orientation of his government, saying that Israel would neither withdraw from East Jerusalem, return to the 1967 borders, nor allow Palestinian refugees to be repatriated to their homes in what is now Israel. Netanyahu issued the statement in response to criticisms from his far-right colleagues who charged that he had crossed the government's political redlines during his recent visit to Cairo. According to some reports, the Israeli premier told his Egyptian interlocutors that he would be willing to discuss "all outstanding issues in a spirit of good will". Netanyahu privately explained that his words in Cairo were misconstrued and misunderstood by the Egyptians and that he was only willing to merely "discuss", not "concede on" issues. "Discussion doesn't mean concession," he reportedly told his critics. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit last week aroused some hope when he suggested that Netanyahu was retreating from his erstwhile position and that he was willing to discuss making East Jerusalem the capital of a prospective Palestinian state. The Egyptian official's remarks, coupled with renewed diplomatic activities in Washington and several Arab capitals, gave a certain impression that the stagnant waters of the stalled peace process were being stirred up. However, stirring the peace process is one thing, getting tangible results another. Even the so-called new American ideas, which would bypass the pivotal issue of Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank, have been rebuffed by Israel. The Israeli government has not offered any official reaction to the reported American ideas, probably because these ideas have not been fully formulated or formally transmitted to Israel. However, Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren has called the American goal of seeing peace established within two years "unrealistic". "We know from our experience that state-making takes a long time," Oren was quoted as saying by Haaretz newspaper. Palestinians, however, argue that Israel wants to prolong negotiations for as long as possible in order to gain more time to steal more Palestinian land, Judaise Jerusalem and build more Jewish-only colonies at the expense of the Palestinians. Having so far failed to wrest any important "concessions" from Netanyahu, the Obama administration has been pressuring its Arab so-called allies to pressure the increasingly vulnerable Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership to agree to resume peace talks with Israel without preconditions. The US suggested it would offer PA leader Mahmoud Abbas a package of inducements to prompt him to agree to resume peace talks with Israel. However, the suggested inducements -- along with the reported Arab pressure -- seem to have failed to change Abbas's mind, at least for the time being. This week, the Central Council of Fatah reaffirmed the PA's refusal to resume peace negotiations with Israel unless Israel freezes all settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Nonetheless, the tone of the Fatah statement was relatively weak, which suggested that the PA leadership might eventually agree to bypass the settlement-freeze issue in exchange for a "satisfactory price". As reported by the Israeli media, this satisfactory price might include a suspension of assassinations by the Israeli army of Fatah activists, easing the blockade of the Gaza Strip, allowing construction material in to enable Gaza's rehabilitation, and ceding more territory to PA control in the West Bank. Israel might also release some Fatah prisoners, such as Marwan Barghouti. Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) officials have refused to comment on these reports, but Mohamed Dahlan, former PA strongman and now member of the powerful Fatah Executive Committee, was quoted by the local Maan News agency as saying that he expected peace negotiations with Israel to be resumed soon. Meanwhile, Middle East Peace Envoy George Mitchell is expected to arrive in the Middle East in a few days to sell his vision of ending the Arab-Israeli conflict in two years. Mitchell will try to convince the Palestinian leadership to start "proximity" talks with Israel in order to narrow the gap between the respective positions of Israel and the Palestinians. Most PA officials view the proposed talks as "futile and pointless". "We don't need to discuss the same things that we have been discussing for 18 years. Now is the time to take decisions, not indulge in more futile talks with a government that is more interested in building settlements and Judaising Jerusalem than in reaching peace," said former PA chief negotiator Saeb Erekat. Erekat's tone reflects mounting frustration and exasperation by the PA that feels that the Obama administration didn't live up to its promises and undertakings with regards to forcing Israel to freeze settlement expansion and adopt the path of peace. Indeed, recent statements by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling for "negotiations without preconditions" between Israel and the PA -- implying Israel wouldn't have to freeze settlements, at least for the time being -- have greatly upset Palestinian leaders. Erekat said: "It is not a matter of preconditions, it is a matter of carrying out obligations and commitments under the roadmap -- the peace plan conceived several years ago by Washington and Israel. The PA has nearly implemented completely its obligations under the roadmap, including combating "terror", fighting anti-Israeli incitement, and actively collaborating with Israel against "the enemies of peace". But for its part, Israel not only refused to carry out its part of the plan, but also continued relentlessly to build Jewish settlements in the West Bank, especially East Jerusalem. This fact is causing a lot of bitterness and disappointment within PA circles, with many PA officials now feeling betrayed by the US. In fact, far from meeting its obligations under the roadmap, Israel continues to commit daily provocations in the West Bank. Earlier this week, the Israeli occupation army demolished as many 20 homes in the northern West Bank. One Israeli official suggested that the mass demolition of Palestinian homes was aimed at "compensating Jewish settlers" for the brief and disingenuous freeze on settlement expansion in the West Bank. Finally, Israel has reacted angrily to suggestions by Mitchell that the Obama administration might use American loan guarantees to Israel to pressure the Jewish state to reach peace with the Palestinians and to withdraw from territories it occupies. The Israeli finance minister was quoted as saying that Israel no longer needed American financial assistance. Other Israeli officials were even less tactful. The row over Mitchell's remarks, made recently during an interview with the American public TV channel PBS, coincided with a visit to Israel by two powerful pro-Israeli American stalwarts, Senator Joseph Lieberman and Senator John McCain. The two senators told Israeli officials not to worry about American financial sanctions. "Such sanctions won't pass in Congress," the two senators assured Israeli leaders.
