The day after Annapolis?

The date hasn’t even been set, yet U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice told journalists travelling with her, in a “roundtable” discussion on Sunday night, that she’s pleased and amazed that the “parties” are now speaking a lot about the day after Annapolis.

(Actually, it was the U.S. side which mentioned that this would be the necessary perspective, during Rice’s previous visit to the region, but never mind. Rice seems happy to let the “parties” think it was their idea — or to let the press think that it was the “parties'” idea…)

The press corps travelling with Condoleeza Rice were actually more interested in President Musharraf’s actions in Pakistan than the day’s developments in Jerusalem.

Still, they got down to the matter toward the end of the “roundtable”.

Rice told the journalists: “[W]hat we’ve really been trying to be very clear on is that they want to come to Annapolis with some understandings about how they move forward. But increasingly, you hear them talking not so much about specifically what might be in this document, but about how they are going to actually get to the negotiation of a Palestinian state. And I think that’s actually a very healthy move”.

Pressed by the press, Rice asked teasingly, Does everybody remember what was said (in a similar briefing by the same participants) in this same room last February? “When everybody said, is ‘political horizon’ an empty phrase for ‘They can’t talk about the real issues’?”

Rice added: [Y]ou’re starting to see here is that people are starting to see Annapolis as the beginning of a process, not a single point in time. And that’s extremely important because the more that they talk about the day after Annapolis and that they are going to have to continue their work to the establishment of a Palestinian state, the more likely they are to get to a place where they’re actually going to end the conflict. And I think what you’re seeing is that people are starting to address really difficult issues that they haven’t addressed in a long time. And that means that, you know, they’re negotiating and they’re trying not to negotiate in the newspapers. They really are, which is remarkable”.

OK.

All the participants in the pre-Annapolis negotiations were present on Sunday at the Saban Forum, Kol Israel reported on Monday morning. Kol Israel’s French news broadcast Monday morning called the Saban Forum “prestigious”. That says it all. And, actually, only those with “prestige” were there — only U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and Quartet envoy Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister, were there. But none of their Palestinian counterparts were present.

[Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was present in Saturday’s session, along with Tzipi Livni. Fayyad, of course, is everybody’s favorite Palestinian, at least in the West — and he actually resides in what is still, at the moment, within the boundaries of the greater Jerusalem municipality, as unilaterally expanded by Israel after it pushed back Jordanian forces and entered East Jerusalem during the June 1967 war.]

At the Saban Forum on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert said “Annapolis is a landmark, it is an international seal of approval, on the path to negotiations and of the genuine effort to achieve the realization of the vision of two nations: the State of Israel – the nation of the Jewish people; and the Palestinian state – the nation of the Palestinian people. There will not be negotiations on the vision; there will be no bargaining about this fundamental goal which the U.S. President, George Bush, declared so eloquently: “Two countries for two peoples” — a Jewish state for the Jewish people, a Palestinian state for the Palestinian people. We will not negotiate about the right of existence for the State of Israel as a Jewish state. We will not bargain about the right of the Palestinian people to their own state. Both are fundamental conditions, basic positions, obvious understandings which cannot be denied…”

Olmert also said: “Annapolis will not be a place for negotiations, but it will certainly be a starting point. Annapolis will be the jumping-off point for continued serious and in-depth negotiations which will not avoid any issue or ignore any division which has clouded our relations with the Palestinian people for many years”.

He continued: “Now is the time. The Palestinian leadership is headed by men committed to all the agreements previously signed with the State of Israel. We do not ignore their weaknesses; we are completely aware of the failures of the Palestinian Authority – of the lack of stable governing mechanisms, of the total disintegration of the security mechanisms in Judea and Samaria, of the Hamas rule over the Palestinian parliament and of the violent control of the murderous organizations in the Gaza Strip. Their control allows for unceasing firing of Qassam missiles at residents in the south of the country. We have abundant reasons to postpone Annapolis; we have very convincing arguments – why the conditions are not yet ripe in the Palestinian Authority to take practical and comprehensive responsibility to implement the understandings with the State of Israel which have yet to be enacted. However, ladies and gentlemen, we are capable of facing these constraints. Under the existing circumstances, we have a partner and we are not willing to postpone negotiations to a later date, at which point our partner might not be capable of fulfilling the mission. Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, and Salaam Fayyad, its Prime Minister, publicly state – without hesitation and despite the inherent difficulties of the complex relations within Palestinian society – that they want to live with us in peace. This is an opportunity – it should be taken. We agreed that if and when we reach an understanding with the leaders of the Palestinian Authority, this understanding will be implemented according to the Roadmap, with all its phases and its sequence. The Palestinians are obligated to fight terrorism and to completely change their internal reality. It should be remembered that the Roadmap sets out a series of steps for the State of Israel. These steps, like the obligations of the Palestinians, have yet to be implemented. We will not concede to the Palestinians on any of the obligations outlined in the Roadmap, and we will not avoid fulfilling our own obligations to the letter. Some of them are difficult, some will create considerable political hardships – and I have no intention, no matter how difficult it is, of attempting to escape the obligations imposed on the State of Israel”.

One bit of evidence about the seriousness of Olmert’s intentions is the report, published in Haaretz on 30 October, that he will postpone the surgery for his cancer of the prostate until after the Annapolis peace conference (or “meeting”) — whenever that is.

“Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will undergo an operation for the removal of his prostate gland after the Annapolis peace summit … Olmert’s bureau issued a statement Monday that the operation will be carried out after the summit, because it is necessary to wait several weeks after the biopsy, which was conducted 10 days ago. Following the operation, Olmert will not be able to travel abroad for three to four weeks, ‘and we do not intend to delay the meeting at Annapolis for this’, a source in his bureau said. In a telephone conversation with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice – who called to ask about his health Monday – Olmert said that ‘I will continue working at full pace… and I will attend the international meeting in Annapolis before the operation’ … Olmert is likely to remain hospitalized for three days after the operation, which will probably be carried out at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, under Professor Ramon”. The Haaretz report that Olmert will undergo surgery for cancer only Annapolis is here.