Thank you, Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera has gone all Wikileaks on our ass, and is in the process of publishing thousands of documents revealing the talks between Israel and the PA. Finally, we get to hear what the Palestinians have been offering in the peace process.

According to the papers, the Palestinians offer to limit the right of return to a symbolic number (tens of thousands) of Palestinians who will be allowed back into Israel; they are prepared to let Israel keep most of the Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem; and to swap land in the West Bank for Israeli lands. This is an offer that I can live with, and so can many other Israelis.

Of course, the Palestinian leadership (we're talking Fatah, yes? Not Hamas) vehemently denies what has been published. But anyone who has been following the peace process realizes that what was published is very close to the truth.

This is the thing that was missing. We in Israel know what our leaders have been offering. Not right away, but some time later. For instance, former PM Olmert has revealed that he offered the Palestinians more than 95% of the West Bank, control over part of East Jerusalem, and a token number (a few thousands) of Palestinians that will be allowed to return to Israel. Most Israelis are against this offer, and Olmert's party (like Barak's Labor before it) took a political hit as a result. But it has entered Israeli consciousness. Israelis now realize that some of our leaders think that we must give all that up for peace, and they are getting used to the idea. In time, they will learn to live with it.

The Palestinians, on the other hand, have not been exposed to what their leaders say in the negotiations. The Palestinian leaders keep telling their people that they will not give up the right of return for every Palestinian refugee (several millions), and not an inch of East Jerusalem. As a result, the Palestinians are not being prepared for peace, and we Israelis feel like the peace process is pointless, since there will be no way to implement it.

We see the reaction now. They are shocked, and accuse their leaders of betrayal. Imagine how they would have reacted if an actual agreement was reached.

But now, thanks to Al Jazeera, they will have to start thinking about it. In time, they will learn to live with it.