The Israeli elections are over, and what's interesting is how various observers are treating Ehud Olmert, the Kadima party leader and the heir to extreme right-wing General Ariel Sharon, as some sort of peacenik. Partly that's because Olmert has declared his intention to unilterally decide what Israel's borders will be, by withdrawing from whatever part of the West Bank he feels like, and annexing the rest.

You might think that this sort of preemptive peace would be viewed as outrageous, but not by all.

Today's Washington Post harrumphs that Olmert's unilateralism is not a bad idea:

In the absence of Palestinian movement, Mr. Olmert then will seek the support of the Bush administration for a unilateral withdrawal. As the new prime minister sees it, this could involve the removal of some 70,000 Jewish settlers from the West Bank, but also the de facto annexation of other large settlements to Israel, along with 10 percent of the West Bank's land. Such a large Israeli withdrawal would be a major practical step toward a Middle East settlement.

For a newspaper that strongly supported the war in Iraq like the Post, I suppose it isn't too surprising that they would see "de facto annexation" of Arab land as a "step toward a Middle East settlement."

The Times disagrees, saying in its editorial: "We're not happy with Mr. Olmert's proposal of a unilateral withdrawal." Still, the Times goes on say that it is "heartened" by even a unilateral withdrawal.

For a reality check, here's a Haaretz report on the Arab League summit's reaction to Olmert and Co.:

Arab leaders meeting in Sudan on Wednesday expressed dismay at the election victory of Kadima, after renewing their own offer of peace-for-land through international mediation.

Arab League chief Amr Moussa said, "It's not comprehensible ... accepting unilateral withdrawals according to Israeli whims. This will not work but will only lead to worsening matters.

"It is impossible to accept Israeli proposals that we have seen so far. Is there anything new the new Israeli government can come up with? Many Arabs don't think so," he added.