For the past two years, during the Palestinian Authority campaign for recognition as an independent state, Palestinian President Abu Mazen was a “star” at the annual gatherings of the United Nations General Assembly. Actually, the Palestinian issue as a whole was the focus of international attention. This diplomatic maneuver was only partially successful. The Palestinian Authority obtained observer nation status at the UN, but it was not granted recognition as a full member. The week of Sept. 26, Abu Mazen stood yet again before the countries' representatives at the UN. But this time, more pressing issues such as Iran and Syria thrust his speech to the agenda sidelines.
Did the maneuver to obtain observer nation status, which put the Palestinian Authority on a collision course with the Obama administration, really advance the Palestinians’ standing as a nation? Did it improve the economic situation of the people in the West Bank and bring the Palestinian Authority any closer to becoming a viable state? Not at all. Now, one year later, Abu Mazen told his UN audience that the Israelis and Palestinians are engaged in a dialogue, but he also cast doubt on whether this dialogue would lead to any real achievements.
“This is the last chance to achieve a just peace,” said the chairman of the Palestinian Authority. "We refuse to enter the dizzying exhilaration of interim agreements that become permanent.” That is Abu Mazen’s main mistake. Given the current state of the Middle East, it is impossible to speak in terms of a permanent agreement, and it is implausible that the alternative would be the complete breakdown of the talks.
This may be the time to stop celebrating the renewal of the talks between Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, responsible for negotiations, and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and to reassess the current reality, based on what we have learned over the past two months. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hasn’t met with Abu Mazen since the talks began, not even for a brief conversation or some general statement of intent. Despite a few symbolic gestures like the release of Palestinian prisoners and the enormous optimism that US Secretary of State John Kerry showers all around him, there seems to have been no real progress in the negotiations.
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