Headline says it all: Abbas wants US to push out Netanyahu. This being the Jerusalem Post, the headline is the result of a moderately negative spin in the article, but only a moderate one. The full text reveals the characteristically juvenile attitude that Arabs in general and Palestinians in particular have had about Israel is alive and well. Unfortunately the administration currently in the White House shows every sign of being arrogant enough and dumb enough to actually try this strategy.

The thing is, it won't work. Netanyahu has a broad coalition and, from what I've read, is quite popular in Israel at the moment. If I could pick one political personality in Israel least likely to respond to a Rahm Emanuel - style political dogfight, I couldn't do any better than ol' Bibi. The result will needlessly strain our relationship with the only functioning democracy in the region whilst encouraging bad behavior and unrealistic expectations in yet another generation of Palestinians.

The right of return has been a dead issue for almost as long as it has been an issue. Israelis know exactly what will happen to their country if hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were suddenly given the "right" to reclaim land and property lost some six decades ago. They simply won't do it. Any plan which insists on it is taken seriously only by people with no real interest in peace, and others so naive as to almost seem from a different planet.

Which is not going to stop them from trying, of course, especially with the reception they seem to have received from the current administration.

More's the pity.