March 2, 2005
ALL OVER BUT THE FOUNDING CEREMONIES:
Palestinians recoiling from suicide bombs: Even some militants distance themselves from last weekend's attack. (Joshua Mitnick, 3/03/05, The Christian Science Monitor)
"We are not with this operation. The timing is wrong,'' said an Aqsa member wearing black-and-white Fila sneakers who called himself Abu Yazan. "We are now talking about a period of [truce]. The rules state that we do not attack.''The comment was a rare jab at a suicide bomber - especially coming from a fellow militant - and it reflects a growing consensus among Palestinians that the attack had damaged the standing of newly elected President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as the livelihoods of Palestinians.
Indeed, after years of celebrating suicide attackers as heroes, Palestinians are souring on suicide-bombings like the one last weekend, which emboldens many of them to question whether strikes at Israel will hasten their goal of establishing an independent state. It's a shift many link to the election of Mr. Abbas - a vocal critic of the militarization of the Palestinian uprising - as well as the emerging détente with Israel.
The only question now is which day the state is established. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 2, 2005 8:14 PM
There is going to be a 'Palestinian' state, constituting Gaza and the vast bulk of Judea and Samaria, with a salient into Jerusalem. I'm not happy about it and they certainly don't deserve it. They have a state, it's called Jordan. That Perfidious Albion chose to put its Hashemite flunkies in charge there should be of no moment today. But that is not in the world of the practical. I wish Abbas good luck, and he will certainly need it.
In any event, it should at least remove this most recent justification for attacks on Jews living in Europe. Give them a few years, and the Euros will find some other reason.