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A dangerous masked ball

Condi Rice is yet again traipsing around the Middle East allegedly attempting, yet again, to get a settlement of the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli dispute up and running. It is said to be her 8th visit to the region. It all seems a waste of time as the US doesn't even recognise the Palestinian government whether it be the unity one recently agreed to or its predecessor. This is the very telling point Gideon Levy makes in his op-ed piece in Haaretz:

"The rules of decorum are binding: Welcome - to the U.S. Secretary of State and United Nations secretary-general, who have come here, and to the German chancellor, who is due next week. But the rules of logic are no less binding, and we must ask: So, why have you come?

All three have declared that they are coming here to further a solution. But this whole show, we must tell them, is no more than a ridiculous masked ball: In their pointless and fruitless visits, they only perpetuate and entrench the conflict that most threatens world peace.

The fact that all three boycott the elected Palestinian prime minister predetermines that there is no chance for progress. This blind trio is looking in the wrong place. If they really wished to contribute, they would have to do two things: meet with Ismail Haniyeh and pressure him to recognize Israel, and meet with Ehud Olmert and pressure him to put an end to the occupation. Without these two elements - nothing will move forward."

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