Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a meeting with Fatah cadres at his headquarters in the West bank city of Ramallah. (Omar Rashidi, Maan Images)

It looks as if the long-anticipated November summit is actually going to be held in November like scheduled. After much speculation and rumors of delay, the United States has announced November 26 as the tentative date for the Middle East peace summit to be held in Annapolis, Maryland.

While the Palestinians, Israelis and even the Americans are all no strangers to summits, agreements and peace conferences all gone bust, this summit could just be the make or break meeting for all those involved. Everyone, - politicians and political pundits alike – agree that the autumn summit under American auspices, is a risk, a political wager, that could result either in a breakthrough of sorts or disastrous repercussions for the Palestinians in particular.

For the newly established Palestinian government under Mahmoud Abbas, this summit could be the single event that secures his legacy as a responsible and successful leader of the Palestinians, who achieved feats no other leader before him could. If the leaders emerge from this summit with an agreement in hand, and broad and acceptable guidelines drawn out for solving the core issues such as refugees, permanent borders and Jerusalem, then it is fair to assume that Abbas will be hailed as a national hero, not just at home but in the international arena as well.

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Similarly, if US President George W. Bush leaves office with a permanent peace agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis under his belt, he will at least go down in history for something other than botching up Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention the thousands of dead US soldiers on his head. This could be a saving grace for Bush and for the Republicans in general, who have rightfully developed a bad reputation, what with the ongoing counterproductive “war on terror” and sex scandals that have plagued the party.

Even for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who many Israelis view as a weak leader, a success in Annapolis could mean a boost in popularity and also a chance to score certain points over previously contentious issues. Take for example, the settlements in the West Bank. Illegal and illegitimate according to international law, Israel has managed to not only maintain already existing settlements but to continue to expand them under the pretext of "natural growth." These illegal colonies, built on expropriated Palestinian land, are now called "communities" by Israel – inhabited by Israeli citizens who just happen to live in the West Bank.

Israel, like with so many other clear-cut illegalities, has draped the settlements in legal jargon, thus essentially stripping away any justification for arguing their illegality. If Annapolis succeeds, Israel will be able to secure this guise of legality for a highly illegal and illegitimate issue, which the Palestinians have been screaming about since the beginning of the occupation in 1967. Israel has repeatedly insisted that it will not withdraw from major settlement blocs in the West Bank. This summit could be Israel’s golden opportunity to put any controversy over these settlement blocs to rest if a final agreement stipulates that the settlement blocs would be permanently annexed to Israel in exchange for a “land swap” with the Palestinians, most likely in some godforsaken area such as the Negev Desert.

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