What follows is a Time's editorial on the elections which appeared today. My remarks are in red.
~~
Tuesday's election in Israel was a minor breakthrough. Israeli voters rightfully slammed Likud, [Boo-Ya!]
...the right-wing party of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
[Nah nah nah, nah nah nah Hey Bibi, good-bye!]
...casting their lot instead with Kadima, the infant party created by Ariel Sharon, who remains comatose after a severe stroke.
[Last night, on the Daily Show, Samatha Bee remarked that it seemed Ariel had been out too late celebrating the election results, and she did the "glug glug" thing with her hand. A rare moment of tatelessness from the Daily Show. Another came at the end of the segment when Samantha remarked that the Nazi Party was shut out, having won zero seats.]
Kadima can't be happy with its performance under the relatively lackluster Ehud Olmert,
[he makes Joe Leiberman look like a party animal]
...who is now likely to become prime minister, because it received only 28 parliamentary seats and will have to form an alliance with at least two parties. But by placing the more centrist Kadima, along with Labor, which received 20 seats
[Boo ya!]
... in the driver's seat,
[ Note of explanation. I don't specifically like ISRAEL'S Labor Party, I just like the idea of a strong and well protected labor force in general]
Israeli voters have endorsed the idea of withdrawing from [parts of] the West Bank. [Shehechayanu, v'keeyimanu, v'higeeyanu l'zman hazeh!!!]
We're not happy with Mr. Olmert's proposal of a unilateral withdrawal.
[Typical anti-Israel clap-trap from the Times. I am thrilled with the idea of unilateral withdrawl. (1) it means we don't have to negotiate with murderers. (2) it means we don't have to give away one drop more than we think is necessary.]
But at this point, we're heartened by anything that leads to an Israeli withdrawal from land that the Palestinians must control if the area is ever going to evolve into two peaceful, co-existing states.
[Note of explanation: There wasn't anything especially anti-Israel about the remark above. I am just an Orthodox Jew, and therefore required by law to preface any and all complaints about the Times with the epitath"Typical anti-Israel clap-trap from the Times." I ignore it whe you do it, so just ignore it now, too.]
It may take weeks to sort out a coalition government, but the strong likelihood is that the next government will proceed with Mr. Olmert's pledge to set Israel's borders by 2010.
While the ultimate solution to the conflict can be only a negotiated one, as opposed to a unilateral drawing of final borders by Israel,
[Wrong! Unilateral will work just fine, thank you very much. No negotiations! Just pull out, and slam the door shut on the whole mess]
...a negotiated deal is not going to happen until Hamas repudiates terrorism and recognizes Israel's right to exist. Hamas has yet to earn itself a seat at the negotiating table.
[Damn straight!]
But in the meantime, Israel can start to rid itself of its self-created problem in the West Bank.
[Damn straight!]
Immediately after the vote, Mr. Olmert made it clear that this remains his intent. He invited the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to enter into negotiations on permanent borders, while clearly indicating that he would proceed alone if necessary. With Hamas now in control of the Palestinian legislature, the invitation seemed mainly symbolic.
[Hamas sucks.]
Whatever borders Israel fixes are not likely to get international recognition, particularly if those borders leave Palestinians cut in half — in the West Bank and Gaza — and unable to get from one part of their country to another without going through Israel.
[So hopefully Israel won't cut their new country in half. Duh.]
But figuring out what the borders should look like is the least of the problems. After years of peace talks and road maps, the general lines are pretty clear, and they require a West Bank withdrawal. Israel's voters know that, too, as Tuesday's election results confirm.
[Shehechayanu, v'keeyimanu, v'higeeyanu l'zman hazeh!!!]