[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: Mahmoud Abbas is not a child. He knows that when
an Israeli prime minister makes an offer that it is not binding on Israel
unless the offer is brought before the Cabinet and approved. And even then,
until a deal is signed, it only takes a unilateral vote of the Cabinet to
rescind the offer.

So when he rejected then PM Olmert's reckless offers (that, by the way,
then FM Livni was aware of - so she knew that Jerusalem was being divided
even though she claims now that she was never involved in such a thing, and
the Sha party - that was promised that Jerusalem wasn't yet on the chopping
block was also lied to, but that not the point of this note) he blew it.

We had elections and as a result of this democratic process we have a
coalition headed by a PM who won't come close to offering what Olmert did.

And now, like a child, Abbas is trying to turn back the clock.

Were is a comment from the Obama team putting Mr. Abbas in his place for
this chutzpah? ]

Abbas challenges Mitchell: Will Netanyahu uphold Olmert's promises?
PA President stresses that Palestinians are still committed to the positions
they presented in response to Olmert's offer in 2008.
By Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff Haaretz Published 01:48 23.05.10 Latest
update 01:48 23.05.10
www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/abbas-challenges-mitchell-will-netanyahu-uphold-olmert-s-promises-1.291595

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas asked U.S. Special Envoy
George Mitchell during their meeting in Ramallah Wednesday to clarify with
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his stance on several issues. Among them,
former prime minister Ehud Olmert's proposal on the borders and security
arrangements for a future Palestinian state, as well as Netanyahu's views on
the Palestinian response to that offer.

A source privy to the details of the conversation between Mitchell and Abbas
told Haaretz that the Palestinian leader stressed that the Palestinians are
still committed to the positions they presented in response to Olmert's
offer, during negotiations held between August and December 2008.

"The points agreed upon with Olmert are agreements with the government of
Israel," Abbas and his aides told Mitchell. "We are serious in our
intentions and this finds expression in our obligation to honor our
agreements."

The U.S. administration has full knowledge of the details of the Olmert
proposal, as well as the Palestinian response. An 11-page document detailing
these points was relayed by former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice
to the Obama administration officials.

Olmert had proposed to Abbas that Israel would annex 6.5 percent of the West
Bank, in return for 5.8 percent on the Israeli side of the Green Line as
well as a corridor linking the West Bank with the Gaza Strip.

In expressing his views on the borders of a future Palestinian state, Abbas
told the U.S. envoy that the territory must be identical to that of the 1967
borders - 6,200 square kilometers. Abbas also noted that the Palestinians
were willing to accept border adjustments in which Israel would annex no
more than 1.9 percent of the West Bank territory, in exchange for similar
territory inside Israel.

During their meeting Wednesday, Abbas told Mitchell that the Palestinian
position on the borders had already been presented to Olmert. He asked the
U.S. envoy to examine what the position of the current Israel government
was.

The PA president requested similar clarifications on issues of security,
saying he had agreed to a Palestinian state "with limited arms" and the
deployment of an international force in the West Bank for a limited period
of time. He clarified that he had not, however, agreed to the presence of
Israeli troops on the territory of the future Palestinian state.

Media reports two days ago, in the Wall Street Journal and Al-Quds al-Arabi,
said Abbas had told Mitchell that the Palestinians were willing to accept as
much as four percent of territory exchange. It is not clear who the sources
of these reports were.