Oh that's totally reassuring. We don't know why we were worried at all:

Vice Premier Haim Ramon signaled on Sunday that Israel intends to hold on to all Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, including Har Homa, where Israel plans to build 307 new housing units, a plan that has drawn scathing US criticism. Ramon said Israel should make it clear that it intends to turn over Arab neighborhoods of the city to Palestinian control, but would retain Jewish neighborhoods, including those built in east Jerusalem... Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki denounced Ramon's statement and its timing: On Wednesday, negotiating teams from both sides are to sit down together for their first formal talks in seven years. "These statements place obstacles before any serious attempts by Palestinian negotiators on Jerusalem," Malki said. "They aim to create confusion and change the course of negotiations before they begin. They try to pressure Palestinians and the international parties to think of Israeli needs before they begin."

We have a different idea: how about instead of giving large parts of Jerusalem up to a population that has repeatedly elected intransigent war governments, Israel doesn't give large parts of Jerusalem up to the Palestinians? Or counter-proposal has two benefits over the Olmert government's idiotic proposal: (1) it doesn't put Hamas a few kilometers from the Western Wall and (2) it doesn't force a bunch of East Jerusalem Arabs to live under Palestinian rule against their will. We're not sure if there's an actual majority of East Jerusalem Arabs who want to live under Israeli rule, but it's certainly a huge swath. Luckily pesky things like "majority rule" don't really matter any more - if they did, everyone would have to accept that the Palestinians aren't really interested in peace since, you know, a majority of them keep voting against it.

And don't you just love how any time Israel lays out a position or takes an action it's instantly an "obstacle" or a "risk" to negotiations? The Palestinians hold the peace process hostage to an all or nothing agreement while openly stating that they'll accept nothing less than all of East J'lem including full sovereignty over the Temple Mount. Hamas legislators, with not exactly muted support from Fatah, declare that any compromise on any part of Jerusalem is high treason. But let Israel suggest that they want to hold on to the Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem - and everyone throws up their hands in exasperation and acts like they're wasting their time even talking to these intransigent Zionists. This should be called the "State Department definition" of Israel-Palestinian negotiations - mostly because it is.

References:
* Ramon: We'll keep parts of e. J'lem [JPost]
* Abbas: "If You Don't Give Me Everything I Won't Accept Anything" [MR]
* Compromise Palestinian Style - We Get Everything, You Get Nothing [MR]
* Palestinian Demands Overwhelming Rice's Ability To Pressure Israel [MR]
* Hamas And Fatah: Any Compromise On Any Part Of Jerusalem Is Treason (Plus: Blair: Peace Deal Within A Year) (Updated: Eloquent And Prescient Reuters Picture Of The Year) [MR]
* Rice Explicitly Sides With Palestinians On East J'lem, Lashes Out At Israel For "Prejudging" [MR]

Previously:
* Palestinians Hold Funeral For Peace Process [Video]
* Olmert Releasing 2000 Prisoners To Placate Crybaby Palestinian Thugs
* Israeli Security Foils 7 Suicide Bombings From Fatah-Controlled West Bank