Two dogmas have ruled Israeli policies for decades: "Always deal with only one Arab nation, and avoid meeting together with all of them," and "Never allow for a permanent international peace conference because it might push us into corners from which we cannot escape." The result has been a "wait-and-see" strategy that assumes that time is on our side.
But "wait and see" is no longer an option.
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Olmert and Company will not meet with the Arab League because they will not agree to the Saudis conditions to include Hamas. Yet Hamas says: "give us a try".
Hamas had also brought calm to the Palestinian factions in March 2005.
The release of BBC report Alan Johnston Wednesday by Hamas members is certainly a grand achievement for the movement. Hamas is now sending a message to the Palestinians, and even more so to the international community, that it is not just an extremist movement, but rather, a movement that also knows how to be pragmatic and resolve crises.
Several hours after taking over the Gaza Strip, Hamas announced that Johnston's release is of the utmost importance.
Ever since Johnston was abducted, Hamas claimed that the abductors were supported by official elements within Palestinian security apparatuses. Hamas says that the successful release operation poses a large question mark: Did Abbas' people postpone the release in order to deepen the anarchy in the Gaza Strip and undermine Hamas' image? Did they aim to prove to all that Hamas' election pledges to introduce reforms and put an end to the anarchy were false promises?
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Just like a murder mystery:
While Johnston was in captivity, Gaza erupted into a fierce internal conflict between Fatah and Hamas that ended with Hamas' takeover of the entire coastal territory in mid-June. Johnston described listening to the battle raging outside his cell.
The Hamas victory made his captors noticeably nervous, he said.
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How did Hamas succeed?
Abbas will no doubt face the following question from world leaders:
How did the tens of thousands of security forces under his command fail where Hamas' security force succeeded?
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And:
Noam Shalit also addressed the remarks made by dismissed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who expressed his hope that the journalist's release would bring an end to the Shalit affair as well.
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Yet:
"No negotiations are being held at the moment. Everything is stuck. Despite what was said in the Sharm el-Sheik summit, there are no talks today on Gilad's issue."
But there is some movement:
Several days earlier, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in a special interview with Yedioth Ahronoth that the Egyptian mediation delegation operating for Shalit's release and for a prisoner exchange deal will resume its work after things calmed down in Gaza.
And the biggest prize of all:
According to Mubarak, "Marwan Barghouti's release will benefit everyone, not just the Palestinians."
Will Olmert finally realize a Unity government in Palestine "ready to deal" is the key to peace.