That is Abbas’ trick. He and his predecessor Yasser Arafat used it for more than two decades, agreeing to a possible agreement if Israel concedes this and that.
And here it is again.
Israel has fulfilled its commitments since the talks began last July. It agreed to free terrorists, 104 of them, in four stages. The Palestinian Authority is committed to show progress in “negotiations” that are not negotiations. It has not budged a fraction of an inch.
And now Abbas, as usual, is changing the rules in the middle of the game. Israel is supposed to free the last batch of the 104 terrorists next month, but now Abbas has added a few more murderers to the list.
And, of course, Israel must stop building homes for Jews in Judea and Samaria, a freeze that next time around would be a de facto recognition by Israel that it must give up the entire region for the sake of a peace treaty, to be signed by Abbas in invisible ink.
The headlines tomorrow, or next week, will read “Israel Refuses to Concessions.”
Isn’t amazing that Obama has all the clout on Israel but can’t even wag a finger at Putin, Assad and Rouhani?