The true obstacles to peace in the Middle East are not settlements. The obstacles are the thugs ruling the Arab states that refuse to ever compromise.

First, Syria says Israel can forget about peace until AFTER she gives up all the land that should rightly be the object of the discussion towards peace between the two nations:

A senior Syrian official said on Tuesday no direct negotiations will be held with Israel until it recognizes what Damascus regards as requirements for a deal.

“I think it is too early to resume direct talks. There are conditions,” Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal al-Mekdad told reporters. “I hope Israel responds to the requirements of peace, which are the end of the occupation of Palestine and the establishment of a Palestinian state, restoration of the Syrian Golan and pull out of remaining occupied Lebanese territory,” he added.

Now, Lebanon says the same thing after Olmert floated the balloon of starting peace talks with Beirut. In order to achieve peace, Israel must begin bargaining after giving away the farm:

Lebanon poured cold water Wednesday on Israel’s hope that Beirut would follow Damascus in opening peace talks with Israel, saying it had to withdraw from what Beirut considers its occupied land.

Lebanon’s response came after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his cabinet on Tuesday he hoped Lebanon would consider opening talks on peace with the Jewish state.

In other words, give us everything we want and then some, and maybe we’ll talk peace after that. The Arab position hasn’t changed. They said no in 1948, again in 1967, and have been saying no to peace with Israel for over 60 years.

Let’s remember that next time some moron insists that it’s “settlements” that are stopping the peace process. No, it’s Arab irredentism and rejectionism of Israel.

Check out this statistic from a story in the Guardian, a decidedly anti-war newspaper:

Evidence of al-Qaida’s problems in Iraq is weighty and convincing. It has been badly hit by the fightback from the American-backed Sunni “Sons of Iraq” and the US troop “surge”. Western intelligence agencies estimate that the number of foreign fighters is down to single figures each month. The border with Syria is now harder to cross.

Iraq-watchers point, too, to financial strain caused by the arrests of al-Qaida sympathisers in Saudi Arabia, mafia-like disputes over alcohol licences and difficulties recruiting the right calibre of people. Last month, a sympathetic website carried a study showing a 94% decline in operations over a year. The Islamic State of Iraq claimed 334 operations in November 2006 but just 25 a year later. Attacks dropped from 292 in May 2007 to 16 by mid-May this year.

Only last year, Harry Reid told us the war was lost. The surge wouldn’t work. It was a waste of time, money, and lives.

Hm.

a 94% decline in operations over a year.

I’m thinking Reid may have been wrong.

The daily bombardment of southern Israel continued as more Israeli civilians were injured by randomly-fired mortars. That’s two dead and eleven wounded in the last week and a half. A fire also broke out in the factory that was hit.

Meantime, Hamas is taunting Israel.

The current Israeli government is the weakest in the country’s history,” Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri said Wednesday ahead of the national security cabinet’s crucial meeting regarding possible Israeli responses to the situation in Gaza.

“The Israelis are unable to deal with the Palestinian organizations and the rockets,” he said, “they know they cannot launch a wide-scale operation in Gaza because (if they do) the Strip will become a graveyard for Israeli soldiers.”

And in spite of the fact that Hamas is daily trying to kill Israelis, they’re ready for a cease-fire. No, really.

Despite the threats, al-Masri stressed that Hamas was willing to reach a ceasefire agreement with Israel “that would include the lifting of the blockade on Gaza”.

Even the AP has noticed that Hamas wants the truce only for logistic reasons. But you have to look at the very end of this article, which of course focuses on Palestinian civilian casualties (as a result of terrorists firing rockets from civilian areas, barely noted by AP), not on the daily barrage that brought the IDF fire on the area. These are the last three paragraphs of the AP’s latest article on the “truce” efforts:

Still, Israel is suspicious of Hamas’ motives in seeking a truce, especially since the militant group has declared it would take advantage of any lull in fighting to rearm.

Adding urgency to Israel’s decision are assessments by its military intelligence that Hamas is rapidly upgrading its arsenal with Iranian assistance.

Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz, a senior intelligence officer, told the Cabinet on Tuesday that Hamas now has rockets with a range of 12 miles, endangering a significant swath of southern Israel. Militants are also increasingly using deadlier 120mm mortar shells instead of smaller ones, Baidatz said, according to a participant in the meeting.

Don’t you just love the AP bias? And that’s actually the most balanced part of the article. Get a load of this:

The decision against a broad invasion came the same day an Israeli shell aimed at a group of militants in the southern Gaza Strip slammed into a nearby house, decapitating a 6-year-old girl in her back yard, Palestinian medical officials and a relative said.

And that’s an upgrade from this:

The decision came despite a new spike in fighting with Palestinian militants. Hours earlier, an Israeli shell aimed at a group of Gaza militants slammed into a nearby house and killed a 6-year-old Palestinian girl. A 55-year-old Palestinian civilian and a militant were also killed in clashes across the territory, while two Israeli civilians were lightly wounded by Palestinian mortar fire.

Funny how every time Ibrahim Barzak’s byline hits an article, the anti-Israel tone deepens while the Palestinian sympathy meter tops out.

And of course, the Palestinian casualty is identified, quotes are gotten from her relatives, and when Israeli deaths and injuries are mentioned, well, they just happen to unspecified people. Because that’s the narrative. Only the Palestinians can be victims.

Also Wednesday, an Israeli was lightly wounded when a mortar shell fired from Gaza hit a paint factory at Nir Oz, an Israeli collective village less than a mile from the Gaza border, the military said. An Israeli man was killed in a mortar attack there last week.

His name was Amnon Rosenberg. He was 51 years old, and he left behind three children and a wife to mourn him. Not that the AP noticed he had a name, even when his death was fresh news.

The bombardment is evidently going to continue. I suppose the Cabinet thinks they’re close to getting Gilad Shalit back. That’s the only reason I can think of for not authorizing an operation, and something I read yesterday that Ehud Barak said indicated as much to me.

I hope they’re right. In the meantime, there will be more rockets fired into Israel. Because there is currently no real deterrence. The jihadis are laughing at the IDF.