Palestine - lame ducks, dead ducks and revived ducks

Resurrection is not an unknown phenomenon in the Middle East and so the re-emergence of the Arab League Initiative from the dustbin will no doubt be trumpeted and discussed for quite a while.

There are even reports that President-elect Barack Obama will announce his support for the Initiative heralding a new and important foreign policy move by the new US administration. Mr Obama would be well advised to duck the issue and move very cautiously before taking to the air on such a flight of fancy.

Israel's rejection of the Arab League Initiative in 2003 was unequivocal and for very good reason.

The Initiative called for the removal of about 300,000 Jews then living in the West Bank and Gaza, complete withdrawal from the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan Heights and Lebanon and the emigration of millions of Arabs into Israel to turn the Jews into a minority population in their own State.

Some things have changed since Israel's outright rejection of these proposals. Israel has evacuated all 8,000 Jews from Gaza. It has withdrawn its military forces and ended its occupation in Gaza and part of the West Bank: 500,000 Jews now live in the West Bank.

What hasn't changed is the Arab League's refusal to agree to any amendments to its six-year-old Initiative - which itself mirrors the Arab League's unchanged position for the last 41 years.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdelelah al Khatib confirmed this position telling Reuters on March 27, 2007.

"The Arabs have agreed to reactivate the Arab initiative without changes. We reiterated that all Arab nations will adhere to the initiative as it is.”

Notwithstanding this "take it or leave it" approach both Israel's President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have recently expressed interest in the Arab League Initiative. Both are lame ducks without any political power to translate their views into political action.

One duck still in full flight and prepared to throw her hat into the ring to seek election as Israel's next Prime Minister is current Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni who told the Jerusalem Post on November 20:

"Israel has interests that are incompatible with the Arab peace initiative, including the issues of borders, east Jerusalem and refugees. These [issues] are presented in the plan in a way that I find unacceptable."

Any Israeli political party espousing acceptance of the unexpurgated version of the Arab League Initiative would face annihilation at the upcoming elections next February. Ms Livni - the leader of the Kadimah Party - presently Israel's largest Parliamentary party - clearly does not intend to be such a sitting duck