Word: roadmap
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...reason the real business appears to be being conducted outside of the "roadmap" framework may be some of the weaknesses of the framework itself. For example, the Bush Administration may have convinced itself that Prime Minister Abbas is now the leader of the Palestinians and that Yasser Arafat no longer counts. But no one in the Middle East believes that Abbas is really the leader of the Palestinians - not the Israelis, not the Palestinians or their Arab neighbors, and certainly not Mr. Abbas himself. Indeed, that's an integral part of the message Abbas will bring to the White House...
...Prisoner-releases, of course, are not covered by the "roadmap," but they are at the heart of the "hudna." Hamas has warned that unless Israel releases the estimated 6,000 Palestinian militants currently in Israeli prisons, there will be no "hudna." And Abbas's own message is that without such concessions by Israel, there will be no Abbas, either...
...pressing the Israelis to release men convicted for killing Israelis won't be easy, with an election season looming. Even if that's what Washington concluded was needed to keep Abbas intact. Because even more importantly, the Bush administration agrees with Israel's position that progress on the roadmap requires that Abbas begin systematically dismantling groups such as Hamas that have waged the terror campaign...
...very groups with whom he painstakingly negotiated the "hudna." His view of the path to peace is to slowly draw them into the Palestinian Authority, and commit them to the political agreements he negotiates with Israel. Israelis are not impressed, insisting that any further progress on the "roadmap" requires a Palestinian "war on terror," and that Israel won't make further concessions unless they see action. But Abbas refuses to launch a Palestinian civil war, and insists his way is actually working, bringing the calm that almost three years of Israeli military action failed to achieve. The Israelis...
...Israeli efforts to sideline Arafat have actually made his political life easier viz-a-viz the Prime Minister Washington would love to see eclipse the aging Palestinian leader. That's because despite the fanfare that accompanied the launch of the "roadmap" six weeks ago, there has been very little easing of the siege conditions under which ordinary Palestinians are living in the West Bank. And while Abbas is seen negotiating with the Israelis and offering concessions, ordinary West Bank Palestinians know that Arafat remains confined by the Israelis, sharing their fate. That may be why Abbas continues to implore Sharon...