And then there was the pope’s strange invitation to Israel’s president, Shimon Peres, to meet with Mr. Abbas at the Vatican for a prayer “summit” for peace. Since the presidency of Israel is largely a figurehead position with no decision-making authority, this can only be described as an empty gesture at best or, at worst, a move meant to underscore the widely held perception that the man actually responsible for negotiating on Israel’s behalf, Prime Minister Netanyahu, is the obstacle to peace.

Back in the real world, parts of Israel still suffer recurrent rocket attacks. And while authorities have managed to foil a spate of attempted kidnappings by Palestinians of Israelis and the security wall has severely impacted the frequency of terrorist atrocities, Jews going about their daily lives in Israel are still under constant threat from their Palestinian neighbors.

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Despite all that, Israel has over the years released from its jails hundreds of convicted terrorists in order to encourage Palestinians to come to the negotiating table. Yet Mr. Abbas, who refuses to reciprocate in any way, gets the benefits of the pope’s “evenhandedness.” In no way can any of this encourage serious negotiations.

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