Dear Editor,
David Ignatius says that former Israeli Prime Minister Olmert's plan "may be the best formula we’ll ever get" for peace [The Mideast deal that could have been, 10/26/11]. He also paraphrased Condoleezza Rice as saying that after receiving Olmert's offer, Palestinian Prime Minister Abbas "balked and asked to consult his experts first." Ignatius leaves out that Abbas never got back to Olmert - and never made a counter offer.
Moreover, after Olmert’s offer, Washington Post Editorial page editor Fred Hiatt personally interviewed Abbas (see "Abbas's Waiting Game" (May 29, 2009)) who finally responded saying about the Olmert plan- "the gaps were wide." That is because there is no "best formula" for the Palestinians other than the destruction of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian state - why else would they walk away from such unprecedented, complete concessions? And that is what the Palestinians are holding out for and that is why they went to the UN to achieve a state without negotiations.
Lastly, Ignatius says that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu "outfoxed" President Obama when Obama demanded a settlement freeze. But Netanyahu agreed to the 10-month settlement freeze, something no other Israeli Prime Minister has ever done. It was the Palestinian Prime Minister who waited until the last month of the freeze to sit down and negotiate, cementing the failure of a deal. More proof of the Palestinians' ultimate goal - their own state in the place of Israel.
Michael Berenhaus
