Kadima, Fatah to Form Coalition
by Jerry L. Kahn, http://www.JewishComic.com
In a surprise move, Kadima and Fatah have agreed to form a coalition government. Both of them have struggled with governmental instability, and calls for reform.
"In the 2006 election, we received 29 seats," Ehud Olmert said. "Fatah won 45 seats in last year's election. When you add them together, we have a very stable majority of 74 seats."
"Ehud Olmert's vision of giving up most of the territories meshes very well with our policies," said Mahmoud Abbas.
The coalition hopes to be able to retain stability since it will no longer be beholden to minor parties and will be less accountable to opposition groups.
Before the final agreement is signed, some differences still need to be worked out. Key among them is the status of Jerusalem. Abbas is demanding that Israel give the Palestinians the eastern half of Jerusalem. However, Olmert, citing electoral demographics, is insisting on giving the whole city away.