From Basim:
"The Palestinian president wants to meet with newly elected Israeli parliament members to lay
out his views on peace, hoping a political surge of centrists will provide an
opening to resume long-stalled negotiations on a Palestinian state, a senior aide said Thursday.
President Mahmoud Abbas'
main target appears to be Yair
Lapid, leader of the moderate Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party, who is expected to
be influential in setting the priorities of the next government. Hoping to capitalize
on the results, Abbas will
invite representatives of Israeli
parliament factions to discuss prospects for negotiations, Abbas aide Yasser Abed-Rabbo
said."
Hezbollah could care less about the outcome of the recent Israeli elections
because the Jewish state’s “project” is falling apart, Hezbollah’s number two
said late Thursday. “Israel held polls and some waited to see who would win ...
But in Hezbollah we did not wait for results because we believe Israel has
entered the stage of defeats and the results today show the defects [that
emerged] after the July 2006 war ... and the Gaza war ... This means that the
Israeli project is gradually descending into the abyss, and here we have to stay
steadfast to face the remnants of this project,” ,” [Sheikh Naim] Qassem
[Hezbollah’s deputy chief] said."
