I shall not say so, of course. On the contrary, I shall shower them with highfalutin' words. I shall tell Abu Mazen that he is my partner. I shall talk about painful concessions. I shall sell myself as the New Netanyahu. (My God, how many times must I become the New Netanyahu?)
The main thing is to get safely out of this mess and preserve the status quo. The status quo is the best of all worlds.
Abbas' thoughts on the way to Washington:
The main thing is to minimize the damage.
Nothing good can come out of this. That's clear. But the blame must not fall on us.
I am sure that Abu Amar [Yasser Arafat] thought the same, when in 2000 he was dragged to Camp David. He knew that Ehud Barak and Bill Clinton would form a nutcracker, with him as the nut to be cracked.
OK, Obama is no Clinton. I trust him. He does indeed want to make peace. But can he? Until now, every time he tried, he gave in to Netanyahu in the end. Now he must compel Netanyahu to extend the settlement freeze. Can he do it?
I can't retreat from this demand. Hamas is breathing down my neck. They are already cursing me for going to Washington at all (as if I had a choice). It would be ridiculous to negotiate while the settlements are being enlarged. As that young fellow, Michael Tarazi, so aptly put it: "It's like talking about dividing a pizza while they [the Israelis] are eating the pizza."
Hamas is trying to undercut me in every possible way. The killing of the four settlers near al-Khalil [Hebron] was designed to hurt the negotiations. It's really amazing how Hamas and the settlers are cooperating in trying to stop the peace process. But the incident also has a good side: the entire world has now seen what can be expected if I fail.
Hamas says that I serve the Americans. What do they propose as an alternative? To renew the armed struggle? They are even afraid to launch their Qassams! The attacks have achieved nothing. International public opinion cannot be relied on, either. Our only option is to rely on Obama. When they understand in Washington that the conflict hurts their own national interests, as this what's-his-name general [David Petraeus] has said, they will impose peace on the Israelis.
Abu Amar fixed the parameters, and no one among us can accept less: a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, the June 4, 1967 borders, limited 1:1 swaps of territory, the removal of all settlements from our territory, an agreed solution of the refugee problem with a symbolic return of some tens of thousands. I am ready to accept an international force on our land, but definitely not an Israeli armed presence. If I get such an agreement, Hamas will have no alternative but to go along with it. Palestinian public opinion will force them to.
They, too, have read the results of Dr. Nabil Kukali's poll this week: an unequivocal 2:1 majority of Palestinians support the two-state solution.
Can one rely on Obama? They say that after the elections in November he will be free of Jewish pressure. But then he will already start to think about the presidential election in two years' time. Only if he is reelected and I am not at all sure that this will happen will he be able to act without fear of AIPAC.
In the meantime, we must hold on. That is the main thing: to hold on and wait for time to do its work.
Obama's thoughts on the eve of the conference.
The main thing is to minimize the damage:
