Earth to Yossi Goell (et al.)
The main fly in this ointment of super-political rationality is that while Arik's Israel is now totally committed to the physical evacuation of settlements by July, the solidity of Washington's commitment to its part of the deal – support for Israeli annexation of the major settlement blocs on the West Bank, through the thick and thin of negotiations on a long-term settlement with Abu Mazen's Palestinian Authority – is far from certain.
Wake up! There. is. no. "deal".
Following up on Sharon's comments to the foreign press corps last Tuesday, David Bedein of Israel Resource News Agency queried the US Embassy in Tel Aviv over the prime minister's declaration that "the government of Israel has reached an agreement with the US government to allow settlement blocs to remain in Judea and Samaria."
When asked if the US government could confirm such an agreement, US Embassy press attache Paul Patin firmly answered, "No."
