| That's a good start ... |
In the morning, Kouchner met with Olmert, who said he was frustrated that Abbas had not accepted his proposal. "You've read what I said in the interview," Olmert told Kouchner, referring to his statements in Yedioth Ahronoth favoring concessions. "Still, the Palestinians do not want to sign."
Kouchner raised the matter later when he met with Livni and asked why she objects to Olmert's proposal. Olmert's plan proposes a comprehensive solution on borders and refugees and postpones a decision on Jerusalem.
Livni's explanation was a criticism of Olmert. "Abu Mazen [Abbas] in his present political situation cannot accept such an agreement," she said. "The political situation in Israel also does not allow it to be signed."
Livni also argued that blaming the Palestinians for refusing to accept Olmert's offer does no good. "We can say this is their fault - but what will that do?" she said. "We had the same thing after Camp David in 2000 and look where that got us."
| So figure out where the border is going to be, build the wall as high as is needed, and make sure the Paleos understand that you'll lob back three missiles to the location of each Qassam firing ... |
"Let us not allow dates or political changes to stand in our way," she said, in her address to a three-day Foreign Ministry conference on policy and strategy in Jerusalem. "The point is to understand the required concessions in order to conduct a proper process."
| How about getting the Paleos on record as to some concessions? |
Israeli and Palestinian leaders have expressed doubts about meeting Washington's goal of reaching a peace deal by the end of the year, before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office.
"We see that the next months are maintaining a level of uncertainty, and that level of uncertainty is getting higher and higher," Malki said in his English-language address. "We are waiting to see who will be the next president, [Barack] Obama versus [John] McCain, and believe me, there is a big difference between the two vis-a-vis the situation in the Middle East" Malki said.