Speaking to Ma’ariv, Israel’s Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor Party) said over the weekend:

In the current sociopolitical situation, only a leader from the Right could pass a peace process through the nation.

[Prime Minister Menachem] Begin returned the Sinai. Could a Labor leader do that? Could a Labor leader have dared evacuate Gaza and destroy the settlements?

[Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin was killed just for Oslo [1993 accords with the Palestine Liberation Organization]. Does anyone think I could have evacuated Gaza? Only a leader from the Right could bring such a change. There is nothing we can do. That’s the reality. Take it or leave it.

In Ben-Eliezer’s mind, the relationship between Israeli right and left is almost independent from each other. The left can show no progress while the right has given all the “concessions” for the sake of the peace process. Indeed, he accused Labor of having a “self-destructive virus” and of failing to develop a new generation of leaders.

Israel-Palestine: Peres Says Settlements Halt When Peace Talks Start

Ben-Eliezer praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the close relationship between the premier and Defense Minister Ehud Barak:
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Haaretz states, via the Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv, that US officials are allowing the Israeli Government to continue construction of 2,500 housing units in the West Bank

Israeli Government spokesman Mark Regev would not confirm speculations but said that the US and Israel have been trying to find a common ground on the sensitive settlement issue. Washington has been silent, but “Western officials” stated that, having made some concessions, Israel could at least finish off some existing projects which are close to completion or bound to private contracts that cannot be broken.

Following Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s meetings in Washington and with US envoy George Mitchell in London, this speculation raises the question: Is the US acceptance of the 2500 units due to the specifics of private contracts and Israeli law on settlements, or have the two sides found common ground where both sides meet with some concessions?

Evening Update (7 p.m.): As the Israel-Hamas talks on Gaza stall, inevitably Egypt’s push for Palestinian “reconciliation” — if it had any chance of success — collapses. The Egyptian state news agency MENA is reporting, “Egyptian-sponsored reconciliation talks between Palestinian groups have been delayed to allow for more consultations.”

2:30 p.m. Now Here’s A Coincidence. On the same day that headlines are made over Syrian President Bashir al-Assad’s encouragement of dialogue with the US, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz features a story alleging that Syria has stepped up production of chemical weapons.

2:20 p.m. And That, For Now, Is That. Hamas has rejected Israel’s precondition of a prisoner swap, including Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, for a Gaza settlement.

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