Annapolis Fallout

I present here some believable Annapolis fallout, with the caveat that I have been unable to verify it elsewhere....according to Ynet and unnamed Palestinian officials, Israeli PM Olmert is lying about giving up the Temple Mount to Arab control...and indeed,he's already agreed to it.

"What Olmert said (regarding the Mount) is absolutely false. I think he's not yet ready to tell the Israeli public and is waiting for the right time and he fears his coalition with religious extremists will fall apart if he announces it now," said a senior Palestinian negotiator Thursday on condition his name be withheld.

The chief Palestinian negotiator ( that would be Saeb Erekat, by the way, even though the article doesn't name him) said in months leading up to Annapolis the Palestinian team was "surprised" by Olmert's willingness to give up the Mount.

"We had intense debates on many topics, which remain open and unsettled, but the Harem Al-Sharif (Temple Mount) is not a sticking point. The Israelis didn't argue with us. We were pleasantly surprised Olmert didn't debate about giving the lower section of the Mount either, which was a sticking point in the past."

Olmert, of course, is already priming the pump, telling the blatant lie that it will be `the end of Israel' if the public doesn't go along with his plans to sell out the country to the Palestinians.In reality,of course, it's exactly the reverse/

Interestingly enough, the Palestinians appear to be quite adamant that all of their demands be met, and quite comfortable with discarding any of those `painful choices' President Bush mentioned in his Annapolis speech, as I noted from Abbas' remarks.

Carl In Jerusalem at Israel Matzav has a story he claims appeared in the Israeli press and has since disappeared(which I unfortunately didn't see personally) that quoted Palestinian top aides to Abbas Saeb Erekat and Nabil Abu Rudeineh as saying that President Bush isn't negotiating in the Palestinians’ name, does not represent them and what he had to say is not relevant to the Palestinian cause. On such issues as recognizing Israel, said Erekat was quoted as saying that Bush is `not competent to determine how we act. If the US president seeks an exchange of territory, he can do this with Mexico.'

Funny how what I write here even as satire seems to become reality...

The story further claim thatAbbas’ political adviser Abu Rodeina maintained that the Palestinians made no commitments at Annapolis...which, as I noted, is the simple truth.

Again, I was unable to find the quotes or interviews directly except for Carl, who I've always found extremely reputable. But I find it eminently believable.