A puzzling horizon, take 2

Once upon a time President Bush laid down a marker: “[T]he United States will not support the establishment of a Palestinian state until its leaders engage in a sustained fight against the terrorists and dismantle their infrastructure.” This fundamental condition has not yet been fulfilled. On the contrary, the territory on which the putative Palestinian state would be built is now divided between warring terrorist factions. Most recently I expressed concerns about the Bush administration’s renewed push for a Palestinian state in “A puzzling horizon” and in “Bush Bakered.”
Yesterday’s news brought additional evidence supporting the concerns I have expressed. The Washington Post submits “A conversation with Mahmoud Abbas” for our consideration while the Jerusalem Post gives us “Rice says talks ‘gaining momentum.'” In his interview with the Washington Post, Abbas says: “I say and have always said that East Jerusalem is an occupied territory. We have to restore it.” I don’t think he means “restore” it to Jordan, and I wonder if Olmert and Rice are on his wavelength. (Thanks to the reader who corrected my original misattribution of this quote to Rice.)
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