Reality bites chief Palestinian negotiator

Thanks for stating the obvious, but how could anyone still think that Palestinian and Israeli authorities would be able to wrap up a peace agreement before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office? It should seem obvious that both sides know what has to be done but neither has the political will or guts to do it. This non-story returned to the news Monday when top Palestinian peace negotiator Ahmed Qurie told a conference in Israel that "I don't think that we will be able to reach an agreement this year," according to the Reuters international news service. "The process is difficult and the political situation on both sides is difficult," said Qurie, a former prime minister when Yasir Arafat led the Palestinian Authority. Thanks for the help. It doesn't take a genius to speak the obvious truth, but it does apparently take someone with more honesty than Qurie. Qurie, and most analysts, equate the political turmoil of coalition-building in Israel with the open rebellion dominating the Palestinian Authority. These things are not the same. Even Reuters called the situation "divisions among Palestinians and political instability in Israel." Divisions among Palestinians? They're in open revolt, with millions living under a different government than the Palestinian Authority. Political instability? That's politics in most of the West -- and that would be stability, not instability. Egypt has called a summit between the Palestinian factions in Cairo on Nov. 5, and will try to bring them together. Otherwise, there's no point to negotiating with the Israelis.