Abbas discards second stage of Roadmap

AP reports: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday he has rejected the concept of a provisional Palestinian state out of concern that the temporary borders of such an entity would become permanent. Abbas told Palestinian lawmakers that during last week's Mideast summit in Annapolis, Md., the idea of a provisional state was brought up, but he turned it down — although it is a key part of the internationally backed "road map" formula for creating a Palestinian state. The border issue is but one of the many hurdles facing negotiators to the talks, which are set to begin Dec. 12. The second step of the three-stage road map calls for "creating an independent Palestinian state with provisional borders and attributes of sovereignty." Creating temporary borders would allow the Palestinians to have independence, while giving the sides more time to work out contentious issues like the final status of disputed Jerusalem. Here is the beginning of the Roadmap's description of Phase II: In the second phase, efforts are focused on the option of creating an independent Palestinian state with provisional borders and attributes of sovereignty, based on the new constitution, as a way station to a permanent status settlement. As has been noted, this goal can be achieved when the Palestinian people have a leadership acting decisively against terror, willing and able to build a practicing democracy based on tolerance and liberty. With such a leadership, reformed civil institutions and security structures, the Palestinians will have the active support of the Quartet and the broader international community in establishing an independent, viable, state. Progress into Phase II will be based upon the consensus judgment of the Quartet of whether conditions are appropriate to proceed, taking into account performance of both parties. Notice a pattern here? Abbas pretends to embrace the roadmap, but he utterly rejects any part of it where the PalArabs are asked to take any responsibility whatsoever. He knows that if the Palestinian Arabs need to pass any test whatsoever before reaching the next stage they will inevitably, invariably fail using any objective criteria. So this is why he insisted on skipping past Phase I and now phase II - he wants a state to be handed to his utterly incompetent, infantilized people on a silver platter. They "deserve" it. The funny thing that Annapolis advocates like to ignore is that there already is a "independent Palestinian state with provisional borders and attributes of sovereignty," namely, the Hamas government of Gaza. Look how successful that has been! Gaza is the most accurate indicator of what a "Palestine" in the West Bank would look like - perhaps not run by Hamas, but equally cynically dismissive of human rights and peaceful coexistence.