For now, Gilad Shalit will remain in captivity.
Olmert discussed the breakdown of talks in an afternoon cabinet meeting; he later went on television to explain the situation to a public divided between sympathy for Shalit and concern over releasing Palestinians convicted of committing violent acts against Israelis.
“I approved these offers, the practical meaning of which was the release of many hundreds of terrorists, including murderers of Israeli citizens, for the possibility of returning Gilad. These offers were rejected. Others will not be delivered to the Hamas,” Olmert said in the address.
In an unusual step, Olmert’s office released the names of some of the Palestinians under discussion in its Egyptian-mediated talks with Hamas, illustrating the demands faced by his negotiating team. Shalit’s release has become an emotionally charged issue, with his parents protesting in a tent outside Olmert’s residence for the past week.
Herb Keinon explains what was behind the government’s decision to publicize the names of the terrorists whose release was being discussed.
Up until now, Hamas has adroitly enlisted Israeli public opinion in getting the best possible deal for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit.
On Tuesday, the government decided to fight back.
By deciding for the first time to release the names of some of the terrorists Hamas has demanded in return for Schalit, the government – which for so long has adamantly refused to release any of these details – decided to enter the public opinion ring.
While many Israelis may have difficulty understanding why the government would not release 450 generic “prisoners” for Schalit, when they hear the names of a few of those prisoners – some of whom make Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar, who was exchanged for the bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, look like a choir boy in comparison – the debate takes on a bit of a different tenor.
Israel Matzav explains what “negotiations” means – see what he writes in the parentheses:
Hamas demanded this morning that Egypt squarely blame Israel for the ‘negotiations’ (and I hope that in light of Hamas’ unchanging demands versus Israel’s eroding position you now understand why I put that term in scare quotes) failing. Apparently even if Hamas doesn’t care about its own prisoners, the terrorists’ families do care about them, and Hamas is at least somewhat answerable to those families. Hamas is also threatening to kidnap more Israelis, which is probably also a threat that is meant to speak to the terrorists’ families.
Of course that’s been the problem of Israel’s negotiations with the Palestinians. Everyone “knows” what terms will bring peace – they’re the publicly stated ones of the Palestinians. “Negotiations” mean Israel giving in more and the Palestinians holding firm.
If one needed a reminder, Khaled Abu Toameh provides one.
In the interview, Dahlan was asked about reports that Fatah was demanding that Hamas recognize Israel’s right to exist as a precondition for the establishment of a Palestinian “unity government.” He called the reports “misleading” and said Hamas was “putting words in our mouths.”
Dahlan added: “They say that Fatah has asked them to recognize Israel’s right to exist and this is a big deception. For the one thousandth time, I want to reaffirm that we are not asking Hamas to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Rather, we are asking Hamas not to do so because Fatah never recognized Israel’s right to exist.”
He explained that it was the PLO, and not Fatah, which recognized Israel’s right to exist when the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993.
Fatah is the largest faction in the PLO. The second largest faction is the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
“We acknowledge that the PLO did recognize Israel’s right to exist, but we are not bound by it as a resistance faction,” he added.
Hamas has not budged on its demands. It had hoped to use public opinion to get Israel to accede to its demands. It didn’t work just now for Shalit, but it has worked in the past. Look at how Fatah is considered “moderate” though its position regarding Israel has never changed.
UPDATE: On the topic of Fatah’s refusal to accept Israel’s right to exist, Simply Jews notes that this is nothing new and …
In fact, what Mr Dahlan is explaining in the rest of his interview is that the recognition of Israel by PLO was an act of financial prudence and shouldn’t be viewed as anything else.
Or put a different way:
No real moderates here–just mercenaries, and how do you negotiate with mercenaries other than by paying them off? That of course is an effective way to dissuade mercenaries, and encourage more to follow.
Israel Matzav agrees that the money for rebuilding Gaza is going to Fatah because they’re good at maintaining the pretense of being “good terrorists.”
The ‘good terrorists’ of the ‘moderate’ Fatah movement – who are slated to receive $900 million in aid from the United States to compensate them for being so ‘reasonable’ while wearing their ‘Palestinian Authority’ baseball caps – still do not recognize Israel, according to a senior figure’s statement on ‘Palestinian’ television last night. Muhamed Dahlan, the former head of Fatah’s ‘security services’ in the Gaza Strip and a murderer of both Americans and Israelis, told ‘Palestinian’ television on Monday night that the ‘Palestinian Authority’ still doesn’t recognize Israel, and it is paying lip service to the idea in order to get the money that it needs to function.
More at Israelly Cool!
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
