therefore, that leaders are voicing opinions that contradict each other. One is seen on Israeli TV declaring with much pathos that "we demand not only Jerusalem, but also Haifa, Besan, and Tiberias," while another asserts that the movement "will not recognize Israel until it returns to the 1967 borders"-a "no" that implies a "yes."
The prison agreement is designed to help in creating the new consensus, which should enable Hamas to conduct a policy based on a compromise between the ideology and theology of the movement and the requirements of the Palestinian people.
The possible line: the PLO, led by Mahmoud Abbas, will conduct negotiations with Israel and present the agreement (if there is one) for ratification by a Palestinian referendum. Hamas will undertake in advance to accept the result. At the same time, Hamas will declare a hudna (armistice) for many years, allowing an end to violence from both sides.
That is possible. The question is whether the Israeli government wants it. At the moment, it does not look like it.
It openly calls for the defining of the "permanent borders" of Israel unilaterally, with the annexation of large areas of territory. Such a policy necessitates a situation of "no partner." This means that the government will reject anything that might create a credible partner, one who would also be accepted by the world.
During the show trial of Marwan Barghouti, we-my colleagues and I-stood outside the hall, carrying posters that said: "Send Barghouti to the negotiation table and not to prison!" But the appearance of this document suggests that sending him to prison was perhaps the biggest favor the Israeli government could have done him and the Palestinian people.
December 1, 2007
"The tumult and the shouting dies, / The captains and the kings depart ..." Rudyard Kipling wrote in his unforgettable poem "Lest We Forget" ("Recessional")
King George departed even before the tumult had died. His helicopter carried him away over the horizon, just as his trusty steed carries the cowboy into the sunset at the end of the movie. At that moment, the speeches in the assembly hall were still going ahead at full blast.
This summed up the whole event. The final statement announced that the United States will supervise the negotiations, acting as a referee