Last week Avi Issacharoff reported on a recent interview he had with Ehud Olmert in The Tower. Much of the story was known, but Olmert provided some new specifics about his offer to Abbas and Issacharoff obtained a map that Mahmoud Abbas had drawn to illustrate the offer. At the end of the article Issacharoff asked Olmert why Abbas never responded to his offer.

“I know all of their arguments,” said Olmert. “They say that Abu Mazen agreed with Bush that Erekat would meet with Turjeman in early January in Washington, but that was a few days before Bush left the White House and we received no such invitation. They claim that it was because I was finished politically, so he hesitated. But that is an excuse after the fact. They [the Palestinians] were very worried. Abu Mazen is not a big hero. They were afraid. Erekat was worried. In the end they thought that maybe after the American elections they would get more from President Obama.”

(emphasis mine)

This is consistent with Jackson Diehl’s reporting about Abbas since 2009. Short after President Obama’s inaguruation, Diehl wrote Abbas’s Waiting Game.

Obama, in contrast, has repeatedly and publicly stressed the need for a West Bank settlement freeze, with no exceptions. In so doing he has shifted the focus to Israel. He has revived a long-dormant Palestinian fantasy: that the United States will simply force Israel to make critical concessions, whether or not its democratic government agrees, while Arabs passively watch and applaud. “The Americans are the leaders of the world,” Abbas told me and Post Editorial Page Editor Fred Hiatt. “They can use their weight with anyone around the world. Two years ago they used their weight on us. Now they should tell the Israelis, ‘You have to comply with the conditions.’ “

That’s a general consideration, but I suspect that there’s at least one specific consideration.

In 1985, Conor Cruise O’Brien wrote Why Israel can’t take bold steps for peace in the Atlantic. (It was adapted from his history of, The Siege.) The article is well worth reading in its entirety as it serves as a reminder as to how far Israel’s come in the past 27 years; and how intransigent the Palestinians have been over the same time. O’Brien wrote about Jerusalem:

It is true that the moderate Arab states–Egypt and Saudi Arabia–would be likely to approve the “territory for peace” arrangements described, but on one condition: that the territories transferred by Israel to Arab rule included East Jerusalem. Failing that, the deal would be denounced by virtually the whole Arab and Moslem world. And it is as certain as anything can be that the state of Israel will not give up any part of its capital, Jerusalem, in exchange for anything at all, even peace.

In explaining why Abbas rejected Olmert’s offer, Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat (in an unhinged rant) told Al Jazeera:

In November 2008… Let me finish… Olmert, who talked today about his proposal to Abu Mazen, offered the 1967 borders, but said: “We will take 6.5% of the West Bank, and give in return 5.8% from the 1948 lands, and the 0.7% will constitute the safe passage, and East Jerusalem will be the capital, but there is a problem with the Haram and with what they called the Holy Basin.” Abu Mazen too answered with defiance, saying: “I am not in a marketplace or a bazaar. I came to demarcate the borders of Palestine – the June 4, 1967 borders – without detracting a single inch, and without detracting a single stone from Jerusalem, or from the holy Christian and Muslim places. This is why the Palestinian negotiators did not sign…

The “unprecedented” offer of territory made by Olmert was not enough. The international sharing of Jerusalem proposed by Olmert was not enough.

And yet the Palestinians (and other peace processing types) claims that it is Israel that needs to commit to peace!

But I think that there’s one overarching reason that Abbas won’t make peace. He’s not interested. Incorrectly hailed as a moderate by virtue of his not being Yasser Arafat, Abbas has benefited hugely from his role as Israel’s “peace partner.” He has been able to accumulate a nice fortune for himself and his family and consolidate his personal power. All the while he gets to jet around the world condemning Israel to near universal acclaim. For Abbas being head of the PA must be a dream come true. What’s the alternative? Actually making peace, would entail messy details like actually having to govern. He doesn’t need that.

2) Who shot at Hezbollah?

Shortly after Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah proclaimed victory in Syria …

The leader of the Lebanese Shia militant Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, has promised his supporters they will prevail in Syria, where they are backing President Bashar al-Assad.

“This battle is ours… and I promise you victory,” he said in a TV address.
…

In the speech from an undisclosed location, Mr Hasrallah said if Sunni Islamists took over in Syria, they would pose a threat to the entire Lebanese population – Shia and Sunni Muslims, as well as Christians.

Syrian resistance is calling Nasrallah “the Dajjal”. This is Arabic for: “That fat guy hiding in the basement of the Iranian embassy”.

— Michael Ross (@mrossletters) May 26, 2013

Source close to Hizbullah to AFP: 22 Hizbullah members were killed in Qusayr on Saturday. naharnet.com

— Naharnet (@Naharnet) May 26, 2013

More numbers. “79” in Qusayr alone. RT @france24_en Scores of pro-Assad Hezbollah fighters killed in Qusair f24.my/ZoykYr

— Phillip Smyth (@PhillipSmyth) May 27, 2013

Two rockets hit Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut:

The strikes, which injured four people, appeared to be a warning shot to Hezbollah, coming just hours after its leader, Hasan Nasrallah, said his militants would back the Syrian government to victory. The spillover adds urgency to efforts by Russia and the United States to organize peace talks to end the conflict, which Damascus confirmed Sunday it would attend “in principle.”

Hint: not a Shia group RT @mrossletters: I don’t know who you are, but it takes real balls to rocket Dahiya: english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle…

— Jonathan Schanzer (@JSchanzer) May 26, 2013

@mrossletters @jschanzer There just are a lot of shades to the story than just the headline of rockets falling. Not saying I know for sure.

— Tony Badran (@AcrossTheBay) May 26, 2013

RT @ap: Lebanese state news says rocket has been fired toward Israel from southern Lebanon: apne.ws/13U8GtW -SS

— Phillip Smyth (@PhillipSmyth) May 26, 2013

Rocket attack against northern Israel. Containable effort by Hezbollahto show it hasn’t forgotten its roots, as it represses in Qusair?

— Michael Young (@BeirutCalling) May 26, 2013

The Syrian civil war continues to spill over into Lebanon and Israel.

Sirhan Sirhan: Slammer Stay Set. Like the comedian said the last time Sirhan Sirhan said that if Bobby Kennedy were alive, he’d vote for parole: “Sucks that he killed the only guy that would set him free!” This time, he claims he’s full of remorse, thinks about it every day. Just look how remorseful he is. This is a dialogue between him and the panel:

He noted the impact on the Kennedy family, which had endured another tragedy five years before with the killing of President John F. Kennedy.

At that point, Sirhan interjected, “That’s not my responsibility.”

Yeah, now that’s remorse. Say it with me, folks: Asshole.

The Incredible Shrinking President: Peter Wehner talks about Fouad Ajami’s description of the constantly-reducing public role of Barack Obama on the international stage. And I simply had to use that subhead.

How stupid is the Obama administration? This stupid. Hillary Clinton says the U.S. should continue to fund the Lebanese army even though Hizbullah is getting more and more control over the country.

The Lebanese army “cooperates with the United Nations mission in the south, to try to keep the peace there,” she said.

Really? Would that be the same Lebanese Army that ambushed Israeli soldiers clearing brush on the Israeli side of the Blue Line, killing Lt. Col. Dov Hariri, who wasn’t even near the brush-clearing crew?

Oh, yeah. We should totally give them $100 million a year.

Obama to American Jews: Pressure Israel to make peace. Meryl to Obama: [censored]. Yep, he’s doing it again, trying to set Jew against Jew. Have we ever heard Obama tell the Palestinians to pressure Hamas to make peace? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Obama said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is eager to secure his legacy by establishing a Palestinian state and would accept a decent offer if one were on the table, according to participants.

“The Palestinians don’t feel confident that the Netanyahu government is serious about territorial concessions,” the president reportedly said.

Obama reportedly said that the Jewish sections of Jerusalem would remain in Israeli hands as part of any peace deal, but that the Arab sections would not.

Who gives a shit that Abbas wants to secure his legacy? You make peace because it’s the right thing to do, not because the world will give you a prize for it. And Obama is utterly snowed by the lies of the Palestinians. They don’t want peace. They want Israel to become Palestine.

But it’s not Israel-bashing, so who cares? The State Dept. has called the Turkel Commission’s report, which says the IDF used justifiable force in the Mavi Marmara incident, “credible, impartial, and transparent.” Funny, I can’t seem to find the thousands of AP wire stories racing around the world to declare this news. Of course, this being the State Dept., they push the UN panel as the “primary forum” to determine whether or not the IDF’s response to being attacked, beaten, stabbed, and thrown over the deck was justified. Because, of course, we need to know if force was justified after this:

“They dragged me down a ladder, two men, one above and one below – while they were dragging me by my pants they started coming off and my shirt hiked up,” he said. “I saw that there was massive bleeding and I could see my intestines spilling out of my stomach.”

Oh, sure. It was all the IDF’s fault.

Hezbollah wins, peace loses: If Congress doesn’t stop all funds to Lebanon, the U.S. will be complicit in arming a terrorist army. Hezbollah has won the fight to form the government of Lebanon. The next war is going to be brutal, bloody, and all-encompassing, not just hitting the Shi’ite areas of Beirut. Because Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy, will be running Lebanon completely. I wonder if Time magazine will run a cover story titled “Do Lebanese Really Care About Peace?” (No, of course I don’t really wonder that. It doesn’t fit the narrative.)

Palileaks, the True Paliwood Story: Barry Rubin has a primer on how the lies can be used to show the truth of the peace talks. He knows this stuff waaaaay more than I do, so go read his analysis.

Hezbollah is taking a leaf from its Iranian masters and insisting that “cooperation” means “Do what we say or we won’t cooperate.” Here’s my favorite bit:

“In case the person we support is chosen to form the Cabinet we will work for this Cabinet to be a government of national unity,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech. “We do not seek to cancel anyone.”

That is significant because Hezbollah and its allies had appeared to be closing in on enough support in parliament to form a government on their own, if they had chosen to try to do so.

That’s the exact opposite of what they’re doing. Consider the opposition to Hebollah’s “suggestion” for PM:

A senior March 14 source said Mikati was the candidate of Hezbollah, adding that there was no Saudi cover for his nomination. “Mikati is not a consensual candidate. He is a candidate of Hezbollah. The problem is that Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is appointing the Sunni prime minister,” the source told The Daily Star.

“We will not participate [in any Mikati government] because we consider that Saad Hariri is the only one who can form a national unity Cabinet in which all parties participate,” MP Ahmad Fatfat of Haririâ€s parliamentary Future bloc told al-Jadid TV.

Strong-arm tactics are not cooperation. And that is how Hezbollah works. It’s sheer bullshit to imply otherwise, and the AP does more than imply that Hezbollah is willing to “cooperate.” Really? Like this?

“The Lebanese Druse leader Walid Jumblatt received threats from Hizbullah; if he didn’t support them – Hizbullah would conquer their stronghold in Chouf mountains [south-east of Beirut],” MK Majallie Whbee told Army Radio Saturday.

Whbee, a member of the Druse community, estimated that such threats emanating from Hizbullah camp were the basis for Jumblatt’s recent support of the Hizbullah-Syria alliance in the present Lebanese political crisis. He also suspected that Jumblatt would not, in the end, join a government coalition headed by Hizbullah.

Instead of reading Hezbollah apologists, try reading Tony Badran and Michael Young. They write true analysis, not Hezbollah spin. So does Barry Rubin. The AP? Feh.

Associated Press reporters saw at least four gatherings of up to 30 people each, dressed in black and carrying hand-held radios. One gathering was about 400 meters (1,300 feet) from the Grand Serail, the seat of government in downtown Beirut, and security officials closed the roads leading to the building.

That’s just a shot across the bow. Lebanon is on the edge of a precipice.

Perversion of Aliyah: A Bosnian man married to a Jewish woman emigrated to Israel five years ago. Turns out he’s wanted for genocide in a massacre of Bosnian Muslims. Israel, of course, is cooperating. But mark my words, the anti-Israel left will use this as an example of Israeli genocide, even though the man is neither Jewish nor Israeli-born.

Remember, it’s anti-Zionism, not anti-Semitism: Someone painted a swastika on cargo from a British Airways flight to Israel. Gee. I guess they didn’t get the message that hate crimes are wrong in the U.K. Oh, wait. I forgot. The Exception Rule was in play. That’s where you add “Except for Jews” to every rule. So hate crimes are wrong, except for the ones against Jews. Like Israeli Double Standard Time, however, not to worry: It’s only in effect on days that end with a Y.

Because here’s what the AP wrote about the indictment filed against Hezbollah by the UN commission:

The court is widely expected to accuse members of Hezbollah of being involved in the killing, something the Shiite militant group has insisted it will not accept.

The Iran- and Syria-sponsored group fiercely denies any role in the killing and says the tribunal, jointly funded by U.N. member states and Lebanon, is a conspiracy by Israel and the United States.

Seriously? What next, the ravings of Jared Loughner as a defense of why he murdered six and shot 13?

Really, just when I think the AP can’t stoop any lower, I get to read drek like this.

Update: Yes, it’s the official boilerplate. From their latest article on the Hariri indictments:

The Iran- and Syria-sponsored Hezbollah calls the tribunal a conspiracy by Israel and the United States.

This is what now passes for journalism: Quoting a conspiracy theory as if it’s a legitimate rebuttal to the facts at hand.

Even the AP can learn: Iran is rounding up even more Christians, and this time, the AP is actually explaining that by “hard-liners” the Iranians mean “Christians we don’t like for one reason or another.” That’s much better than just reproducing the Iranian propaganda line of a couple of days ago.

More intolerance of Christianity from the Religion of Tolerance: An off-duty Egyptian police officer shot five Christians, killing one, for no apparent reason other than they’re Christian. Oh, and four of the victims were women. Hey, I’ve been saying for years that the jihadis won’t stop at killing Jews. It’s wonderful that Egyptian Muslims crowded around Churches for Orthodox christmas, and yet—the killing of Christians continues. I’ll believe that Muslims are becoming tolerant when they eliminate the laws against blasphemy, apostasy, and building houses of worship other than mosques. (I won’t be holding my breath.)

Hezbollah uses the Mahmoud Abbas Defense: They’re threatening to quit if they don’t get their way. See, I’m of the opinion that this is good news for Lebanon—Hezbollah is threatening to quit the government over the results of the UN Hariri trial. (Boy, they really must have something to hide there.) But of course, the spin’s going to be that it will cause civil war if they, as the AP put it, “topple” the government. And here’s what should have been in the lead, but was buried deeply:

Alloush, a former lawmaker, expressed concern about possible street violence encouraged by Hezbollah and the movement’s patrons in Tehran.

“At the end of the day, it’s an Iranian decision,” he said.

Yes. All the world talks about “sovereign state” this and “sovereign state” that when discussing other nations, and yet, the fact that Iran and Syria are pulling the strings in Lebanon is once again ignored. Because it’s not like they’re oppressing the Palestinians in Lebanon or anything. Oh. Wait.

Israel sends heavy metal message to Hamas: The heavy metal, of course, being the metal encasing explosives. Three targets in Gaza, as well as one PIJ ex-terrorist, got the message.

The head of petroleum and natural gas exploration in the National Infrastructures Ministry, Dr. Yaakov Mimran, called the claims “nonsense.”

He said that the latest offshore discoveries in the Leviathan field, as well as the earlier Tamar and Dalit finds, are absolutely within Israeli territory.

Senior Israeli officials said it was Lebanon that set the limits on its own territorial waters after it had given out exploration licenses exactly along these borders. “What are they complaining about now?” asked one official.

“That is how Cyprus acted, which set the border of its exclusive economic zone between countries at a distance of 200 kilometers from Israeli shores and sold the [licenses] for exploration to private entrepreneurs along this line,” said the official.

I’m sure that the UN General Assembly will be happy to declare otherwise.

Yes, but the world will still blame Israel: Mark Regev asked on the BBC how the Palestinians expect to make peace with Israel if they won’t talk to Israel. Don’t worry, though, nobody is going to be silly enough to expect the Palestinians to take responsibility for refusing to sit down and talk with the Israelis. It’s their fault, after all. Settlements, dontchaknow. Rockets landing regularly? Not the Palestinians fault. Terror attacks? Still not their fault. Nope. It’s all Israel, all the time.

I told you. Everything is Israel’s fault: Mubarak told Bibi that threatening Hamas—like, after they launch a bunch of kassams and mortars into Israel—is harmful to the peace process. And regional stability. And probably causes cancer and erectile dysfunction. Really, is there nothing that Israel can do in self-defense that doesn’t harm the peace process?

U.N. security officials evacuated the buildings where the Security Council and the General Assembly were to meet Tuesday because of a strong odor caused by a sewage problem.

This assumes that there are people with brains at the UN: I swear I’m not making up the name of this holiday. It’s the Third Annual Brain Education Day. And it’s a Mike Bloomberg idea! Woot! The guy can’t get New York City streets plowed, but he’s declaring Brain Education Day. Because we totally have to educate those brains, man.

Lebanon to UN: Israel found the gas field, but it’s OURS! OURS! OURS! Of course they’re complaining to the UN. Do you expect them to actually let Israel profit from its own work when by throwing a tantrum they can get the UN to declare an investigation to make sure that Israel isn’t stealing “Lebanese” resources?

Preparing for the next war: While Hezbollah and Hamas are preparing for the last war, the IDF is readying the troops to win the next one.

Thousands of soldiers and hundreds of armored vehicles dealt with simulated antitank missiles, rockets and mortar shells – as well as motorcycle-riding Hezbollah operatives. The deep mud caused by last weekend’s rain storm made the drill even more challenging.

Chipmunk Cheeks Nasrallah could not be reached for comment. He’s still hiding in his secret underground bunker for fear of assassination by the IDF.

Hezbollah—I mean Lebanese civilians—is still going after UNIFIL. Seriously, they should be renamed EUNUCHFIL, because they’re about as ball-less.

The incident took place as the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL ) patrol was conducting a GPS demarcation, the reports say

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) intervened following an alert byUNIFIL general command at the scene of the incident and resolved the situation by taking the patrolâ€s computer at the request of the villagers.

They let the LAF take their surveying equipment. Wow. They’re going to be so useful when Hezbollah launches the next war. As hostages.

I eagerly await the UN resolution against Hezbollah.

Kidding.