The Annapolis conference came and the Annapolis conference conference went. Despite the predictions of the apocalyptic doomsayers of the left and right, the sky did not fall. Yossi Beilin's prediction that Gaza would "explode" (see Hamas and Syria will not watch television) if Hamas was not included in the conference did not really come to pass, though the conference and the peace talks that began, lamely enough, were greeted with an appropriate flourish of rockets. Instead of Gaza exploding, the Hamas and Fatah slugged it out a bit on the anniversary of the Fatah, and Yossi Beilin found himself redundant in the Meretz party. The Palestinians didn't get a really bad deal at Annapolis, as it was followed by a donors' conference that promised $7.4 billion in aid, and accompanied by an Israeli gesture of prisoner release. These are tiny steps in the right direction. 

The doomsayers of the right were wrong as well. Israel has not yet been forced to accept millions of refugees and hasn't been forced into terrible concessions.

The hype of the American administration was wrong too. There won't be a Palestinian state in a year, because Annapolis ignored the central problem of Gaza entirely. There can't be peace as long as Hamas rule Gaza, as Mr. Abbas has little to offer Israel (see It's the Gaza strip, stupid). The Palestinians cannot solve this problem. Israel cannot solve this problem either. The United States and the international community must solve this problem if there is to be a Palestinian state. Hamas will never agree to live in peace with Israel. In fact, Hamas will never agree to anything that the Fatah accept, simply because they are political rivals.

There is a lot more that everyone can do to advance Middle East peace. US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones pointed out the importance of peace education, but much more than words are needed. It didn't occur to Jones that America and other donors have to put their money where their mouths are. Suppose that just 10% of that aid, a mere 740 million, were earmarked for peace education and dialogue over the next three years? It would be little enough compared to the huge expenditure on arms, police and similar necessities, and little enough compared to the huge resources devoted to anti-peace action and education - to farfur the exploding Hamas mouse and other gimmicks designed to gets kids to hate, as well as to settlement expansion and propaganda for settlement expansion, legitimation of Hamas and other sorts of hate.

Ami Isseroff