[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:

So here we are with Israeli policy being driven by an ideologue (Ramon) who
thinks that withdrawal would herald utopian peace, a politician (Olmert)
trying to avoid an indictment and a planning horizon even shorter than
Sharon's and an FM (Livni) who enjoys pontificating about Israel's
requirements for the diplomatic process which in practice she ignores,
along with an American Secretary of State convinced she can give out
marching orders to Jerusalem and an American president who seems to think
that if you say someone is a great "moderate Palestinian leader" who can
deliver the goods enough times that the endorsement will somehow transform
reality.

They even already set the location for the grand
ignore-reality-make-a-sovereign-Palestinian-state-come-what-may
extravaganza.

And then the Palestinians save the day with a hard line stand before they
get a sovereign state of a silver platter?

Will the Palestinians, once again, save Israel from itself?]
============

PA demands sweeping deal with Israel before summit
KHALED ABU TOAMEH and MARK WEISS , THE JERUSALEM POST Oct. 2, 2007
www.jpost.com
/servlet/Satellite?cid=1191257206807&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

The Palestinians will only participate in the US-sponsored peace conference
expected to be held next month if general agreement is first reached with
Israel on all the fundamental issues, Palestinian Authority officials here
said Monday.

They said that in addition to Jerusalem, the borders of the future
Palestinian state and the problem of the refugees, the PA was also seeking
agreement on water, security and settlements.

Meanwhile Monday evening, 16 Gazans were wounded in Khan Yunis in fighting
between Hamas and Fatah gunmen. The clashes began when Hamas's Executive
Force tried to arrest a Fatah man.

The officials also denied that the PA had agreed to discuss an exchange of
land with Israel and limiting the number of refugees who would return to
Israel proper. They said the PA's official position remained that Israel
must withdraw from all the territories captured in 1967, including east
Jerusalem, and that there would be no concessions on the "right of return."

PA negotiator Saeb Erekat said he was unaware of any land swap agreement. He
called on the media to refrain from publishing any unofficial documents or
unauthorized statements.

One official told The Jerusalem Post the Palestinians were convinced that a
joint declaration of principles could be achieved before the conference.
"We're not asking for a detailed agreement, but at least let's agree on the
principles of the final settlement," the official said. "We have four to six
weeks to strike a deal. Let's not waste time."

According to another PA official, the Palestinians want the declaration of
principles to include an Israeli commitment to withdraw to the pre-1967
borders. "As President Mahmoud Abbas stated last week, we have no intention
to compromise on any of our rights," he said.

Asked why the PA, which in recent weeks had expressed reservations about the
conference, was now sounding more positive, the official said: "When [US
Secretary of State] Condoleezza Rice was here lately, she told us that the
US administration was determined to turn the conference into a successful
event. She also promised to exert pressure on Israel to soften its
position."

The negotiating teams will meet Wednesday, when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
is scheduled to host Abbas in his succa at the Prime Minister's Residence.
Contacts have already taken place, including discussions between the two
leaders and between their foreign ministers, on what kind of joint document
should be presented to the conference, set to take place in Annapolis,
Maryland, in mid-November.

There has been no agreement on how specific the joint document should be.
The Palestinians want a detailed framework agreement, while Israel wants a
shorter, more general statement.

"We're negotiating with Israel, and after that there will be an agreement,
which we will carry to the international conference to be blessed, adopted
and endorsed, and then detailed negotiations shall begin," Abbas told
reporters following closed-door talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II in
Amman.

He said at least 12 Arab countries had agreed to send representatives to the
conference. "There will be a very strong Arab presence at the conference,"
Abbas said after holding talks with Jordan's King Abdullah. "In addition,
there will be some Islamic countries like Malaysia, Turkey and Indonesia."

In the meeting with Abbas, Jordan's king urged Israel to take
"confidence-building steps," which he said should include assisting Abbas
and laying out a "specific agenda for the final status negotiations,"
according to a royal palace statement.

Abdullah expressed hope that the international conference would have a
"practical and tangible outcome that would lead to a just settlement and set
forth a new era of joint Palestinian-Israeli coexistence."

AP contributed to this report.