March 3, 2008
INSTEAD OF FOLLOWING OURS?:
Mahmoud Abbas should try leadership (Con Coughlin, 03/03/2008, Daily Telegraph)
Having accepted the position of president of what remained of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority following the 2006 elections, it was incumbent on Mr Abbas to exert his authority over all the territory under his command.
Mahmoud Abbas has made no effort to prevent Hamas launching its rockets indiscriminately at Israeli settlementsIn particular, he needed to face up to the challenge presented by Hamas's surprise victory in the elections. Tired of the culture of corruption that had characterised Mr Arafat's Fatah movement, the majority of Palestinians made the surprise choice of voting for the militant Islamic party that seeks to turn the Palestinian territories into an Islamic state.
In that regard he's performed almost as poorly as Israel and the U.S., which, likewise, but with less ideological justification, failed to reckon with the democratic self-determination of the Palestinians. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 3, 2008 6:09 PM
This article betrays a breathtaking lack of understanding of what is going on between the Palestinians and Israel, the goals of the Palestinian Authority and its leader, and the game (strategy) that he has been playing (using), to perfection, it must be added.
So, unsurprisingly, does the commentary on it.
Posted by: Barry Meislin at March 4, 2008 2:36 AMWhat Barry said. Abbas has a very weak hand, but he is hanging in there pretty well. Hamas also has a weak hand, but they don't know what to do except yell and shoot. Olmert, curiously, is in a stronger position now than he has been in months. As long as the rockets keep coming, he can fire away at Gaza every day if he chooses. And if Hamas ups the stakes, Mashaal and Nasrallah better start checking under their hoods.
Posted by: jim hamlen at March 4, 2008 8:45 AMHamas's allies just forced Israel out of Palestine.
Posted by: oj at March 4, 2008 11:49 AM