Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and several members of his entourage told the Washington Post prior to their meeting US President Barack Obama last week that they would stall the peace process until their host manages to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu out of office.
Abbas told the newspaper that he will not join US-led peace negotiations until Netanyahu explicitly and publicly commits to the creation of a sovereign Palestinian Arab state and stops allowing the construction of homes for Jews in Judea and Samaria.
Netanyahu has so far refused to do either, and has resisted Obama’s initial pressure on both issues.
But one of Abbas’ officials noted that Obama will soon turn up the heat, eventually leading to Netanyahu’s downfall and the return to power of the much more pliable Tzipi Livni.
The official said he believes it will take a couple of years, but eventually Netanyahu will be forced from office.
That timeline would appear to correspond to the two-year deadline London’s Sunday Times reported that Obama gave himself to reach a significant breakthrough in the Middle East peace process.