> Until the Israelis, whether led by Livni or Netanyahu, are certain a
> potential Hamas-led Palestinian state does not represent a threat to them
> on their western and southern borders, they are unlikely to strike any
> deal with Fatah, which is politically weak. If the Israelis had any
> serious intentions about a peaceful settlement which amounted to more than
> a de facto Palestinian surrender, they would have released Marwan
> Barghouti for the same reason Botha's government released Mandela in 1990.
> There might be some movement on the Palestine issue in the context of an
> omnibus Middle East settlement involving some form of US rapprochment with
> Iran, but I'm not holding my breath.