Atila Somfalvi did not relent. The Ynet reporter kept pressing Justice Minister Tzipi Livni what she would do if the negotiations she was leading fell short of a deal with the Palestinians. Her answer was the right one; she said that in the midst of a battle, one does not prepare for possible defeat. The fight must go on. Over the weekend, an editorial in The New York Times took note of the criticism Livni leveled at Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett and her suggestion that he was undermining her peace efforts. But the paper ignored her answer to Somfalvi. In fact, it called on U.S. President Barack Obama to abandon the peace process, to act as if this was a lost diplomatic battle. To use military lingo, it said Obama should leave the wounded behind. That is, both Israel and the Palestinians. And himself. Just how exactly are Israel, the Palestinians, the U.S. and the region going to benefit by having U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry throw in the towel, conceding that this was too much to handle? What's worse is that a spate of terrorism may soon rock the region. Foreshadowing this was Monday's ambush in Judea and Samaria, when an Israeli family heading to the Passover feast came under fire. Any levelheaded individual knows that the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security agency will be relentless as they search for the killers. What's particularly troublesome is the silence on the part of the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah. More than 24 hours have passed, but it has yet to issue a condemnation. The Palestinian security forces are losing their grip. This could be a result of a laissez-faire approach, but it could also be a product of their complacency. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has renounced terrorism and this could help make such attacks an exception rather than the rule. However, Abbas' clout may weaken if the two sides fail to engage in talks -- or at least pretend to do so. Abbas will host MK Hilik Bar (Labor) and some of fellow faction members on Wednesday. Bar hopes journalists will report on what Abbas says and serve as a conduit for the Israeli public. This is fine, but Abbas would be better served by talking with the Israeli government, not with a conglomeration of opposition MKs and journalists. That said, it seems that the Palestinians are every bit as worried as worried that Obama will follow Ahitophel's counsel printed in The New York Times. Both sides have leveled impossible demands, and now they are both looking for a face-saving mechanism that would let them descend from the tree they've climbed. There are about two weeks left before the negotiations run their course. Bennett and Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel probably want to see the negotiations reach a impasse, and there are many like them on both sides. Yisrael Beytenu MK Faina Kirshenbaum's panic indicates that not all's lost. Despite Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman saying he would prefer elections over changing the makeup of the government, Kirshenbaum has indicated that the coalition could stay in tact if the two parties agreed on extending the talks. There is room for concern, but despair would be premature. Livni's approach of staying focused on the battle is the correct approach. Even after a deadly terrorist attack.
