How would prisoner exchange operation relate to settlement construction freeze?

Mehdi Shakibayi: There are reports that the first prisoner exchange between the Zionist regime and Palestinians is in its final stages at the same time the Channel Four of the Israeli television is speaking of an agreement on the part of the cabinet to put a 10-month freeze on settlement construction.

It seems that the Israeli government's stubborn pursuit of settlement construction and the ensuing fallout by Abu Mazen the head of the Palestinian Authority was a scenario to bolster the position of Abu Mazen.

One month ago, Abu Mazen stated he would not stand vote in the upcoming Palestinian Authority election as Israel refuses to freeze its settlement expansion. With the Israeli freezing announcement there is no more reason for Abu Mazen to shun. He would no see himself more popular as he could press Israel to freeze its operation only through announcement of quitting.

This is the same Abu Mazen who in the recent months found himself with an all- low popularity rating after he opposed a decision to review The Goldstone Report by the United Nations. The Israeli settlement announcement would apparently act as a popularity booster.

The decision has come at a time when the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas has multiplied its popularity within the Palestinian masses after it apparently could stage a first-ever prisoner exchange operation in the history of Palestinian-Israeli conflicts. The Israeli decision then is natural in a trial to hinder further unpopularity on the part of Abu Mazen.

One may inquire why Israel failed to delay an exchange of prisoners until after elections so as not to give Hamas further popularity. The answer is simple: the failure of Israel to find the whereabouts of its seized soldier has helped further expose the underbelly of the once-purported "fifth army of the world."

The regime also endures a pressure from inside as civil Zionist communities are pressing it to find a way-out from the tribulation.