As they have every time one has been offered, dating back to the partition of the region by the UN in 1947. So why should we be surprised that this proposal for a state with interim borders would be rejected?

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, pledging deeper engagement in the Middle East peace process, met Sunday with the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, who rejected suggestions for establishing a temporary state within provisional borders and pledged that any American money to bolster his security forces would not be misused.

“I have heard loud and clear the call for deeper American engagement in these processes,” Ms. Rice said after two and a half hours of talks with Mr. Abbas.

* * *

Although no formal proposal has been presented, some Israeli officials have floated the idea that the peace process could be accelerated by establishing a provisional Palestinian state within temporary borders to be subsequently set.

But Mr. Abbas said the idea would never work, fearing that the Palestinians might be locked into an inferior map.

“We have also noted to Minister Rice our decision to end any temporary or transitional solutions including a state with temporary borders because we do not believe it to be a realistic choice that can be built upon,” Mr. Abbas said during a joint news conference with the secretary of state.

Then again, if the Palestinians get their own state, they might be expected to quit killing Jews in Israel -- an outcome that too many of Israel's Arab neighbors find unacceptable.

Don't believe me? Consider this little bit of information buried in the final paragraph of the article.

Despite a cease-fire in Gaza that came into effect on Nov. 26, Palestinian militants have continued to fire rockets into southern Israel on an almost daily basis. The rockets are inaccurate and rarely cause serious damage or casualties, but the Israeli government says it will not tolerate the attacks indefinitely.

Israel, on the other hand, is expected to exercise restraint.