Israel-Palestine Analysis: It's "Win-Win" in West Jerusalem....but Who Won?

French and Spanish delegates are coming to West Jeruslaem on Sunday to advance President Nicolas Sarkozy's idea of a summit in Paris later this month between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.

But the delegates may be running against time.

On Friday, the Arab League will convene.  Most observers have seen this as a deadline warning to West Jerusalem. However, Israeli officials put forth a contrary argument via outlets like the Jerusalem Post:

But these deadlines, one official said, have in the past proven to be “elastic”. There are always deadlines, but this doesn’t mean that if some formula is not found by Friday, that’s the end of the story, the official said, adding that intensive discussions with the Americans were continuing to take place.

Another official noted that the search for finding a formula was being negotiated between each side and the Americans – as was the case during the proximity talks – not directly between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

There is some merit in the argument, as both Palestinians and Americans are aware of the significance of internal political dynamics in Israel.

At the weekly cabinet meeting on Monday, Netanyahu drew the lines of the upcoming political process with the Palestinians. He said:

We have no interest in causing an uproar.  Neither do I have the possibility of denying the baseless media report.  But I do have an interest in responding calmly and responsibly in order to advance the diplomatic process.  We will quietly consider the situation and the complex reality away from the spotlights.  I propose that everyone be patient, act responsibly, calmly and –-- above all –--- quietly.  This is exactly what we must do.

"Responsibly, calmly and quietly" was followed on Tuesday by a meeting of the inner circle of Israeli Ministers in which Netanyahu had to convince Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteineu) that Israel should respond to US assurances and promises of aid with ar two-month extension of the freeze on West Bank settlements. However, Netanyahu was unsuccessful, as the announcement from his office made clear:

Contrary to various media reports and in accordance with a statement issued yesterday by the Prime Minister's Bureau, the forum did not discuss the efforts being made to enable the continuation of the peace talks.

Netanyahu's bargaining over the talks with the Palestinians had been met by a different haggling, this one over internal matters. Lieberman and Yishai asked for a loyalty oath for "a Jewish and democratic state". So, here was the statement from the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today decided to add the phrase, "a Jewish and democratic state" to the loyalty oath – "I promise to honor the laws of the State" – in the Citizenship Law.
  
Prime Minister Netanyahu said that, "The State of Israel the national state of the Jewish People. This principle guides Government policy, both foreign and domestic, and is a foundation of Israeli law. This principle finds expression in the phrase 'a Jewish and democratic State'. It is fitting that this principle should also appear in the loyalty oath taken by those seeking to become naturalized Israeli citizens."

And here is Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon (Yisrael Beiteinu)'s Facebook message on the issue: 

Yisrael Beytenu's official comment on the new proposed amendment to the Loyalty Oath or new citizens: "Every citizen is obligated to preserve Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and all the more so when one aspires to become an Israeli citizen. This is a vital, basic need, especially when there are those who wish to undermine it."

The amendment to the Citizenship Law will be submitted for Cabinet approval on Sunday.

The US approach to Netanyahu, pleading for an extension of the settlement freeze, was that it was a "win-win" proposition: the Prime Minister maintained his flexibility in the talks, which would continue, and Israel also received guarantees and money from Washington.

The only problem is that this is not the only "win-win" in town. Away from the formal negotiations, other Israeli politicians were setting out a different "win-win" to the Prime Minister. Bibi, you get to maintain the role of leader in the discussions with the Palestinians but we get the measures inside Israel --- defining who is "proper Israeli" and who is not --- that we want.