While the press consistently publishes reports of Hamas agreeing to a truce deal with Israel that includes the release of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert denied any such deal, declaring “Israel is not currently engaging in any negotiations with Hamas, and certainly won’t achieve any kind of understanding.” Moreover, the PMO declared that Israel will leave border crossings shuttered until the release of Shalit.
A recent Haaretz report indicates that the European Union and the United States are using back channel negotiations to influence the creation of a Likud-Kadima unity government. The upcoming trip by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could help push that agenda if coalition building continues into March. Statements made by an Yisrael Beiteinu MK indicated that party Chairman and Kingmaker Avigdor Lieberman could recommend himself for Prime Minister, although he would sacrifice any possibility of a ministerial portfolio. An op-ed from The Australian describes Netanyahu’s “maturation” since his last stint as Prime Minister, citing the differences between Kadima Chairman Tzipi Livni and Bibi as “Livni says stop terrorism and you get a state, Netanyahu says stop terrorism or you don’t get a state.” He also states that “natural growth” of settlements means that they only need to “build up” and place more people in the same amount of space. However, this argument neglects the need for additional infrastructure to support population growth.
Moreover, recent statements by Israeli Major General Avi Mizrahi regarding the Turkish Armenian genocide could further complicate the two nations’ relations, recently stressed at the Davos economic conference.
