Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants a final peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority, not any interim deals, and says that such an agreement will require "courageous leadership," says Jerusalem Post columnist Herb Keinon.
Bibi that PA President Mahmoud Abbas "should not be 'counted out,'" Keinon writes. Forgive my cynicism, but I don't think we're going to get anywhere near "final-status" negotiations without Abbas, and Bibi isn't going to bring Abbas back in unless he freezes settlements.
Meanwhile, the New York Times' Ethan Bronner reports from Jerusalem that Israel's security establishment is in a "state of alarm" over Abbas' vow not to run for re-election and the possibility that he will resign:
Some of its top members are urging their government to make far-reaching offers -- "not just lifting a few roadblocks," in the words of one -- that would persuade him to stay in power and resume negotiations with Israel on a solution that involves creating an independent Palestinian state.
But Keinon's sources in Netanyahu's administration say that he's opposed to half-measures, including an interim accord that would create a Palestinian state with provisional borders. That sounds like the idea being put forth by Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, which Abbas has supported, but which the United States and European Union have opposed.
Netanyahu reportedly referenced Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who made peace with Israel after "no one thought" he would, Keinon writes. Is Abbas that kind of leader? Perhaps - Bronner says the Israelis do consider him a true moderate - but he's not going to make that kind of deal for nothing. You can't get to final status without a settlement freeze or the creation of a provisional state, but Netanyahu seems willing to do neither.