There have been a lot of press reports on Ehud Olmert’s November 4 speech to the Saban Forum, but you have to read the entire speech to get the full flavor of it.
Here is Olmert’s answer to the question, which he rhetorically asks himself in his speech, about the timing of the Annapolis conference: “Why now?”
Because it is time.
. . . The Palestinian leadership is headed by men committed to all the agreements previously signed with the State of Israel.
We do not ignore their weaknesses; we are completely aware of the failures of the Palestinian Authority — of the lack of stable governing mechanisms, of the total disintegration of the security mechanisms in Judea and Samaria, of the Hamas rule over the Palestinian parliament and of the violent control of the murderous organizations in the Gaza Strip. Their control allows for unceasing firing of Qassam missiles at residents in the south of the country. . . .
However, ladies and gentlemen, we are capable of facing these constraints. Under the existing circumstances, we have a partner and we are not willing to postpone negotiations to a later date, at which point our partner might not be capable of fulfilling the mission. . . .
Let’s see: the Palestinian Authority has failed; the Palestinian leadership didn’t fulfill the prior agreements (to which they were “committed”); there is no stable governing mechanism; the security mechanisms in the West Bank have totally disintegrated; Hamas controls the Palestinian parliament and rules over Gaza; murderous organizations roam there unimpeded; and there is unceasing firing of missiles on Israeli civilians.
But “it is time” — because if we don’t act soon, the Palestinian leadership “might not be capable of fulfilling the mission” later on.
Noah Pollak thinks it is a mistake to take Ehud Olmert’s lofty declarations seriously, and in fact the above two paragraphs do read better if you visualize them being read by Jack Benny, staring sideways at his audience, his left arm folded across his stomach and his right hand cupped against his cheek: "Our partner might not be capable of fulfilling the mission." Stare.