"Abu Mazen knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are people who will not allow him to cross the line." - terror leader Nasser Jumma (Washington Post)



The diplomatic dance between Israel and the Arabs is showing greater signs of risk.



Arab leaders and some of the people they hope to represent have been making scary noises, which in turn should make the most objective person wonder if a peace settlement is remotely possible.



For a moderate, Mahmoud Abbas sounded more like a hardhead or someone playing a dangerous game when he pledged Tuesday, November 24, to demand that Israel recognize the "right of return" of Arab refugees.



As the Associated Press reported, he uttered these words at a memorial ceremony for Yasser Arafat at the Palestinian parliament: "We promise you that our heart will not rest until we achieve the right of return for our people and end the tragic refugee issue."



If Abbas means this, there is no use for Israel to even talk with him. Abbas and every Arab involved in building a Palestinian society knows full well by now that Israel will reject such a demand out of hand. Those four million people listed as refugees would overwhelm Israel and destroy its status as a Jewish state.



Abbas cannot be serious. He is probably attempting to placate the extremist elements in his society until the January 9 election. If he is elected president of the Palestinian Authority, what happens if he fails to deliver?



Will he be able to convince his people that the peace deal he obtains, if he gets that far, is the best course of action for his people?



Or will the "people who will not allow him to cross that line" make sure he pays for his supposed betrayal, as Jumma put it? (Abbas is also known as Abu Mazen, and Jumma is a senior leader of the Al-Aqsa Brigades.)



Then there is Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, who urged the United States to hold to its original 2005 deadline for Palestinian statehood, on grounds that any more time will encourage Israel to seize still more land in the West Bank.



He asked for such assurances from Secretary of State Colin L. Powell during his visit to Israel last week. In June 2003, President Bush touted the creation of an independent Palestinian state by the end of 2005 as part of the Road Map peace plan. The other week, Bush pledged to pursue that objective by the end of his second term, which ends on January 20, 2009. Noon.



Prior to Powell's visit, Qurei told AP, "We'll tell him that the four years' time that was mentioned by President Bush to establish a Palestinian state will encourage the Israeli government to continue stealing our lands to build settlements and the wall. It is very dangerous."



Hold on there. Isn't he forgetting something? A lot of things, for that matter?



Qurei is rushing matters, which surprises me. I had given him credit for wanting to do this right, but I suppose I myself rushed to judgment.



Among many concerns, Israel needs assurances that any Palestinian state will not be used as a staging area for attacks on Israel, and that the Palestinians can operate a functioning government. How does Qurei intend to accomplish that? He offers no such assurances.



Before Qurei or anyone else can talk about deadlines, they need to get their act together. Already, their security forces could not control a mob that disrupted Arafat's burial, and 20 or more terrorists got close enough to Abbas, a former prime minister, to threaten his life.



So far, Qurei and Abbas have not had sufficient time to prove they can run things any better than Arafat.



How can Qurei call for a narrow deadline when his people have not earned the confidence of Israel and the United States?



Predictably, Powell said that such a deadline cannot be established.



Where, also, does Qurei find the gall to accuse Israel of "stealing our lands"? Maybe it is Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's intention to exploit the time available to take more land, but where is Qurei's proof? Besides, the United States could work with the Israeli government to ensure that sufficient land is made available to the Palestinians if there is agreement on an independent state.



Both sides must heed recent history. Israel was ready to hand the Arabs an independent state with few questions asked in July 2000 and the Arabs responded with a war that claimed the lives of 1,000 Israelis and 3,000 Arabs. Arafat lied about the conditions of the proposal, according to then-negotiator Dennis Ross.



If what Qurei wants can be accomplished within a short amount of time, that would be fine provided all parties are comfortable with the plan. But first, questions must be asked - and answered.