10 days ago, I’ve participated in a special protest, organized by Peace Now, against the Israeli government’s peace refusal policy. Yesterday, winds of change began blowing, when PM Olmert said that he was willing to treat the Saudi peace initiative seriously. This is a major shift from FM Livni’s statement made on the day of our protest.
The problem with declarations from our current prime minister is that the speaker is not reliable. Most Israelis, left wing and right wing alike don’t believe a word he says. A recent survey showed that only 3 percent preferred Olmert over other candidates. Support level is around 14% (if I’m not mistaken, I can’t find the link).
Such declarations were usually followed by praises from the left and criticism from the right. This time, the politicians were quiet. They just don’t take him seriously and ignore this statement.
In addition, prime minister Ehud Olmert met with the Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen). Even though meaningful decisions weren’t agreed upon, the existence of such a meeting is significant. Maybe the declarations about the Saudi initiative were published only for making the meeting more smooth.
The main headline that emerged from that meeting is the possible release of Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped last June. Abbas declared his possible release before the erection of the new Palestinian government. His release was mentioned many times in the past. Hopefully, this time it’s for real.
Anyway, I doubt that our small protest made the shift in policy (if it’s real), but at least for one day, I can be satisfied.