A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Friday, November 20, 2009

Am I Missing Something Here?

Israel Policy Forum, generally one of the saner and most reliable pro-Israeli sites, has an interesting post that befuddles me a bit: Beilin Announces Planned Settlement Freeze as Barak and Peres Formulate New Peace Plan. I hope it's all true, but what puzzles me is the lead sentences:
Former Knesset Member Yossi Beilin announced yesterday that Prime Minister Netanyahu will soon declare a ten month freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank, which would not include Jerusalem. Posturing on what may happen following Netanyahu's declaration, Beilin predicted that the Americans would welcome the move and call for the renewal of talks despite their disapproval of continued building in Jerusalem and the Palestinian Authority would not be able accept it and would collapse as a result.
Um, did I miss something here, like the lion lying down with the lamb (or the lamb becoming the spokesman of the lion)? Why is Yossi Beilin seemingly announcing (and privy to) the intentions of Bibi Netanyahu?

Admittedly, he is predicting that the PA will reject it and this will wreck the peace process, and is probably saying that this is a Really Bad Thing, but is this just a political guess or does he know something?

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