Palestinian Authority Humiliated by Doc Leak

Welcome to the post WikiLeaks world: The mysterious leak to Al Jazeera of classified documents relating to the Middle East process figures to have big repercussions. The Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland looks at the possible effects on all the involved parties. “Perhaps the first casualty will be Palestinian national pride,” he writes. Palestinians may cringe to see their leaders willing to concede “the biggest Yerushalayim in history,” and referring to Ariel Sharon as “friend”—in fact, the PA is already accusing Al-Jazeera, which released the documents, of aiding its enemies. The documents “will cause little trouble inside the country,” Freedland writes. “There are no exposés of hypocrisy or double talk; on the contrary, the Israelis' statements inside the negotiating room echo what they have consistently said outside it.” However, they greatly undermine Israel’s consistent claims that Palestine has not been a willing partner in the peace process. Things will only be harder from here on out: The documents figure to strengthen Hamas, which opposes negotiation.