Summit expectations are very low

From Ynet News, 19/2/07, by Ronny Sofer ...

...Sources in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office said expectations were not high head of Monday’s summit meeting between Olmert , US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

“Peace won’t 'break out' in the three-way summit with Rice and Abbas,” a senior official said Sunday evening....Abbas will have to go back to Hamas and demand a change in stance in order for the international community and Israel to accept the new unity government...” ....

...Apart from the Quartet’s conditions, other issues will be discussed at the summit, including the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, ending Qassam rocket fire and terror acts, and putting a stop to smugglings from Egypt into the Gaza Strip.

Since Israel and the US have already decided on rejecting the unity government if it did not acknowledge Israel, Abbas is likely not expecting the government to be accepted as he cannot guarantee Hamas’ stance on the issue.

According to a senior government source, Olmert will do his best to avoid putting Abbas in a difficult position. Olmert wants to preserve the relationship with the Palestinian President in order not to create a wedge in the Palestinian camp in which Hamas would be the extreme camp.

Livni made Israel’s stance on the issue clear during the weekly government meeting Sunday.

“The Palestinians tried to create a vague formula through the Mecca agreement. Although there is no disagreement with the US or Europe, what was agreed on does not fulfill the international community’s three conditions,” Livni said.

A senior official at Olmert’s office emphasized that the prime minister repeatedly said he would be willing to negotiate with Hamas if the organization accepted the Quartet’s three conditions.

From JPost, Feb. 19, 2007 1:39 Updated Feb. 19, 2007, by HERB KEINON ...

...Israeli officials are going into Monday's trilateral Israeli-Palestinian-US talks with almost no expectations, with one senior Israeli official saying Sunday that success at this meeting would be simply "agreeing to disagree."

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met separately on Sunday with both Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to prepare for her talks with both men together on Monday at Jerusalem's David Citadel Hotel.

Palestinians: Rice-Abbas talks 'difficult'
Officials in Olmert's office described the two-hour, private Olmert-Rice discussions as "intense." Israeli officials reiterated that there was "full coordination" with the US regarding the demand that the new Palestinian government accept the Quartet's three benchmarks - recognizing Israel, renouncing terrorism, and accepting previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements - before being considered a partner.

The officials said that there was also full agreement with the US that these conditions were not negotiable.

An indication of how low the expectations are for the talks can be seen by the fact that no joint press conference or even joint appearance is planned following the meeting. Instead, Rice is expected to issue a brief statement and field a few questions afterward.

...The three-way Rice, Olmert, Abbas meeting is expected to start at 10 a.m. The three leaders are then expected - depending on how the talks go - to be joined between 45 to 90 minutes later by their advisers.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni briefed the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday on her preparatory talks Saturday night with Rice, and said it was clear to both the US and Israel that the road for the new Palestinian government's legitimacy passes through acceptance of the three conditions.
Livni said "the ball was now in Abbas's court," and that he had to take action to separate himself from Hamas and get the new government to accept the three Quartet principles.

Livni said there was no disagreement with either the US or with Europe that what was agreed between Hamas and Fatah at Mecca did not meet the three criteria.

Government officials said Israel decided to go ahead and take part in Monday's meeting because refusing to do so would have meant Israel would be seen in the eyes of the world as the party not willing to explore options to move the diplomatic process forward. Furthermore, the officials said the high-profile meeting was a good place for Israel to place before the world its demand that kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit be freed and that the PA government moderate its positions....