Rafah round-up (Soccer Dad)

Soccer Dad has an excellent analysis of coverage of the Rafah deal where Condi Rice forced hard concessions from Israel (compromising its security in very real and clear ways) and forced essentially nothing from the Palestinians beyond empty words.

I once noted that Palestinian actions can be regarded as Pavlovian. The argument can be extended here - when the Palestinians ignore demands made of them (by the road map, by the US, by the quartet) the world will still make Israel give them more. When their refusal to do anything beyond the cosmetic is constantly rewarded with more Isralei concessions, what incentive do they have to actually do anything?

Obviously the US conduct is disappointing and the EU conduct is expected. But ultimately the responsibility for Israel's security belongs to the Israeli government - it is the most important function a government has. Other governments say "no" to the US constantly and do not suffer unduly; it is time for Israel to draw a line in the sand. Too many Israelis are dead because Israel has caved to pressure from Washington.