Olmert Continues To Gaze Into The Soul Of The Palestinians

At the beginning of the year, Olmert looked deep into the heart and soul of Abbas and liked what he saw:

He said he was convinced, too, that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas "has made the choice in his heart" between clinging to the "myth of the 'right of return'" and the opportunity to establish a Palestinian state where all Palestinians, refugees included, would live.

"My impression is that he wants peace with Israel, and accepts Israel as Israel defines itself," Olmert said. "If you ask him to say that he sees Israel as a Jewish state, he will not say that. But if you ask me whether in his soul he accepts Israel, as Israel defines itself, I think he does. That is not insignificant. It is perhaps not enough, but it is not insignificant."

Now with Israel finally taking action against Hamas, Olmert once again gazes--this time into the minds of the Palestinian Arabs themselves:

The prime minister went on to say that "nobody in the world would deny" that striking at Hamas strengthens the chance for peace.

"The more Hamas is hit, the greater the chances of reaching a peace agreement. It is clear to me that the Palestinian leadership with whom we are trying to make peace, understands this. Israel will continue to defend its citizens and will continue to make efforts to hold negotiations in order to reach an understanding with the Palestinian leadership that [also] wants this," he said.

Clear? He must be using Peretz's binoculars:

Earlier Sunday, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat had said that Israeli-Palestinian peace talks had been "buried in the dust of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip."

If Olmert refused to take the Palestinian terrorists at their word, what chance is there that the West will?

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