My Way News - Palestinian leader rejects intl peace blueprint
My Way News reports: "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas strongly suggested Saturday that he would reject a peacemaking blueprint put forward by international mediators, saying he would not agree to any proposal that disregarded Palestinian conditions for the resumption of peace talks."

Comment: What an extraordinary week of events centered on the epicenter of Bible prophecy - Israel and Jerusalem. As this week ends more pressure than ever is on Israel to make more compromises and give up more land to the Palestinians who say they want peace and yet keep firing off missiles at their peace-partner. Abbas' U.N. gambit means that the same international pressure that was focused on Abbas to prevent a U.N. vote is now on Israel to show some progress on the long-stalled peace talks. Progress, of course, defined as Israeli concessions.

The Security Council will meet next week to discuss the Palestinian request and we should have some early indication as to whether they intend to move quickly on the request or have a committee review the proposal for a few months or so. This will effectively table the matter for the short-term and it's at this point that the Palestinians will call out their rioters to create a spectacle for the media. They could also seek to keep the pressure on by taking the matter to the General Assembly and asking for a change in status, less than statehood but more than the observer status they have now.

In a very real sense the Palestinians are driving the process now and the U.S., Israel and the U.N. are merely reacting. An ever present danger is the volatile mix of increased expectations by the Palestinian people (who don't really understand the U.N. process - it's a bureaucracy after all) for real change and the desire of everyone else to maintain the status quo of the Quartet's negotiating process. The stage is set for public protests that can easily spin out of the control of the Palestinians who hope to stage manage them for the media.

Finally, how will Hamas react to the new political reality in which Abbas returns as a hero of his people? The long simmering civil war between Fatah and Hamas could get hot quickly if Hamas perceives they have been made irrelevant. Never mind the absurdity of a state in the midst of a civil war asking for recognition from the U.N. (because most of the world is willing to overlook that), the situation on the ground could get very dangerous for Israel if Hamas decides to launch rocket attacks from Gaza to undermine Abbas' peace efforts.

Most of the world focused on this last week as the crucial time for Mideast peace because of the drama at the U.N., but the real drama is just about to begin. Stay tuned.