A series of non-events have marked a massive non-effort by the sides to get the Mid-East peace process moving again and finally implement the second redeployment. Yasser Arafat and Bibi met in the U.S. and decided not to decide last week. This week, Secretary of State Albright arrived in Israel and catalyzed intensive meetings between the sides. A box of Cuban cigars that Yasser Arafat gave PM Netanyahu may be the greatest material concession to come from these talks. At the press conference after the meeting, Madeleine Albright spoke of the good atmosphere (perhaps due to the cigars) and of ‘substantial progress’ on a number of issues.

While Yasser, Maddy and Bibi were having lunch, a corner-stone was laid in Tel-Rumeida in Hebron for a permanent Israeli settlement to replace the caravans that house the current settlement. The excuse given by Bibi is that the current structures that are not bulletproof must be replaced by more secure housing, but that no new units would be added, . However MK Shaul Yahalom promised that that the new construction would not just replace the existing caravans, but add many more new houses. It is hard to tell if Bibi is throwing sops to his right-wing coalition partners preparatory to the redeployment, or whether he is throwing sops to the Palestinians preparatory to a new settlement effort.

Despite ‘substantial progress,’ there is no substantial evidence of agreement on the substantial issues: the size of the third redeployment, Palestinian security undertakings, a mechanism to supervise implementation of the accords. There is even a suspicion that the map of the redeployment is not final yet. Other problems, such as continued Israeli settlement in the territories, are not even issues in the talks.

There was progress or agreement on such issues as the airport, industrial park, anti-incitement supervision and, a favorite of mine, activation of people-to-people programs. But ‘progress’ is not really enough, if it has no visible consequences.

The only really substantial decision to come from this meeting was a firm agreement to hold a Camp David type three way meeting on October 15. Rumor has it that Bibi Netanyahu pressed to hold this meeting at this time, and insisted that it could not be postponed. Could this just possibly have something to do with the scheduled Knesset hearings on holding new elections?

At his press conference, PM Netanyahu boasted that he had managed to reduce the Palestinian demands from the situation two years ago, when the Palestinians thought they would be getting 90% of the West Bank, to the current situation. This seems to mean that Bibi thinks that this patchwork geography can be the basis for a final settlement, and that the Palestinians will agree to give up on the third redeployment, as he insists.

I offer a compromise that can save the situation. The first redeployment never happened, but nonetheless, this is being called the second redeployment. In the same way, we can cancel the second redeployment and call it the third redeployment. And then we can cancel the third redeployment and call it the final settlement.