Grandstanding

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, grandstanding means "to play or act so as to impress onlookers." It seems to me that this is the best word to use to describe the rally Hezbollah has planned for this weekend in Beirut. It is rumored that Nasrallah himself may attend. The rally is supposed to celebrate Hezbollah's victory over Israel - the mere fact that they are able to hold a rally publicly should irk Israelis (and Americans) quite a bit. We'll have to wait and see what is said at this rally and the resulting response; all I am noticing right now is how much coverage this event is receiving from the Western media.

In other news, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas told the UN General Assembly that the PA's unity government will recognize Israel, and then the Palestinian PM (a member of Hamas) basically said, "No we won't". Hmm. Some kind of unity government. Meanwhile, Olmert's popularity has declined in Israel due to the Hezbollah war. In short, instability reins! I have been doing quite a bit of reading about the Arab-Israeli conflict, and as far as I can tell, this is the worst this situation has ever been. Robert Fisk cynically observes that at every turn, some politician is trying to put the peace process "back on track". After reading Fisk's comment on this, I have noticed this more and more. It seems every article about politicians from this region mention the phrase "back on track", but the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza and the increased violence between the two sides is also notably absent. How can you even think about a peace process when such violence is a daily occurance?