Mahmoud Abbas celebrated the start of the ninth year of his four-year term as president of the Palestinian Authority in Cairo today by attending a summit with the leader of the rival Hamas group. Abbas was summoned to the meeting due to pressure from Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, who is expected to help pressure Gulf nations to donate money to the perpetually bankrupt PA. The Muslim Brotherhood government of Egypt has long sought to promote the idea of Palestinian unity, something that would strengthen the position of their Hamas allies. This worries Abbas, who also remains the head of the hopelessly incompetent and corrupt Fatah movement that runs the PA. But while there is little likelihood that this latest conclave between the two groups will lead to an actual merger and power sharing in the West Bank and Gaza, the signs are clear that they are moving closer to each other in other ways.
That was made plain by another and perhaps more significant event today. The Al Aksa Martyrs Brigade is the terrorist wing of Fatah and was responsible for many terrorist attacks on Israelis during the second intifada. It hasn’t been heard from much in recent years as Abbas played the moderate to the applause of Americans and left-wing Israelis. But the march by armed fighters belonging to the group in a refugee camp near Nablus was an ominous warning that the reports filtering out of the West Bank about plans for a third intifada by the PA may be more than rumors. This gives the lie to the claims made by both the Obama administration and Israeli President Shimon Peres on behalf of Abbas’s bona fides as a peacemaker. This is something the Obama administration ought to take into consideration before they launch another attempt to pressure Israel into concessions to jump-start peace talks.
For four years, Abbas has done everything possible to avoid having to return to the negotiating table with Israel. Despite the best efforts of President Obama to tip the diplomatic playing field in the Palestinians’ favor, Abbas wouldn’t deal with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu even after he froze settlement building and pledged to support a two-state solution. He compounded that by doing an end run around U.S.-sponsored talks and getting the United Nations to upgrade the PA’s observer status at the world body.
The possibility of another Middle East initiative from Obama may worry friends of Israel. But it is also a concern to Abbas, who will do anything to avoid being put in the position of having to turn down peace and statehood as he did in 2008 and his predecessor Yasir Arafat did in 2000 and 2001.
The Palestinians may be thinking that they can generate more sympathy for themselves and pressure on Israel by reverting to violence than by returning to the negotiating table that they have spurned for the last four years. That may cause some Americans to redouble their efforts to pressure Netanyahu in a futile effort to appease the Palestinians, but doing so would miss the point of Fatah’s return to its terrorist origins. Abbas won’t make peace, not just because he’s weak and his followers don’t want to end the conflict. If he’s showing signs of unleashing the Al Aksa killers again it is because that is the best and perhaps only way for Fatah to compete with Hamas for the affections of West Bank Arabs. In the upside-down world of Palestinian politics, violence against Jews, rather than efforts to improve the lives of the people, remains the ticket to popularity. If a Fatah-Hamas merger is ever to take place, it will mean a contest between the two, and the only way for Abbas’s faction to hold its own is to unleash another intifada.
President Obama ought to be reacting to these developments by making it clear to Abbas that he will lose the support of the United States as well as his European donors if he fails to talk to Israel or if he gives the green light to the Al Aksa Martyrs to start shooting. If, instead of that sensible course, he concentrates his fire on the Netanyahu government, an opportunity to stop another round of bloodshed may be lost.
Uh, Jonathan, Abbas is the president of the 'State of Palestine' now. n nAlso, why do you think the only consequence of Abbas promoting violence will be 'another round of violence' (the implication being that that will be the only consequence)? n nHow about 'another round of violence should spell the end of Israeli support for Abbas and expulsion of these murderous thugs to Jordan, Gaza, or back to Tunisia?' n nCan you ever bring yourself to commit these words to paper? n nWhat would it take? n nFortunately, the Israeli public is way ahead of you and the rest of the pundit class stuck in the '2 state solution peace process groundhog day' time loop.
see the new comments by Rick Richman……at least some pundits are coming to the realization that israelis knew long ago : peace is impossible with someone who wants to extinguish you.
There is a large gap between what Israel is willing to offer the Palestinians in a peace treaty and what the Palestinians are willing to accept. Under this scenario, negotiations are futile, and the status quo will persist until the pain is too much for either Israel or the Palestinians. The Israeli Government believes that intentional inflcition of pain on the Palestinians is likely to cause even more pain to boomerang onto Israel. Are they correct? Is the middle path and the status quo the best alternative, or is it likely to end up with Israeli concessions that could have been made for years already?
True, because the Palestinians have said they will accept nothing less than an end of the state of Israel. Some of them are willing to let the Jews remain in a subordinated status, de facto and de jure. Others are willing to give the Jews the time to leave peacefully (supposedly), but not necessarily with any of their property, which would be looted or confiscated. Still others also insist on the right to kill all Jews, whether in Israel of elsewhere. n nWhich of these demands do you suggest that Israel agree to?
The Saudi peace plan is not as draconian as the alternatives you list, and has been accepted by the Palestinians. If Israel is going to eventually accept somethign like what is in the Saudi peace plan, what are they waiting for? If they are not going to, is the status quo their best long term option?
jbirdmenj,r nr nHow long will it take before the Saudi Peace Plan, the Palestinians accepted, will be rejected in actions akin to the actions of the Palestinians after they accepted the Oslo Peace Plan? (1993 they accepted, 1994 the sucide bombings started)r nAfter all that has taken place do people still expect the Arabs to keep to their word?
The "state" of Palestine is the PNA rebranded which was the PLO rebranded which was the mujahadeen and fellahdeen rebranded.
greatest hits. Suez.
sure, he'll send Chuck Hagel to admonish Abbas. n nNot.
[on a triple secured phone line]
US President Obama: Hello Mr. President, we are terribly sorry we could not have taken you up on your kind invite for prayers and strategic planning you have scheduled in Al Quds next month. Although, I must say that is a brilliant plan to fool The Israelis into thinking we are in Ramallah. Let’s not cancel, but rather postpone the event; alright, good, and how are things going with Hamas? Did the concessions we won from the tight wad Bibi help the dialogue go your way. They’re evolving would you not say. I keep telling them the war is over they won.
President Abbas: We need cash, immediately.
President Obama: Oh, thanks for reminding me, there is this journalist pain in the ass named Tobin with Commentary who is demanding I warn you on terror. So consider this a warning.
President Abbas: Don’t worry, we are quite prepared to deal with everything, so do we get a check in the mail.
Look, can we speak later, there is a memorial for Huell Howser that Daniel Barenboim is sponsoring with food, music from The EAST West Divan Orchestra and bottoomless hookahs and hookers. Remember, that was the deal, I appease Barenboim and you appease Dershowitz and Koch.It is a cake walk for me, quite literally.
President Obama: See you brother.
President Abbas: G_D willing you will succeed in these next four years and the conflict will be solved for good. That……is peace. The peace of the brave, as my mentor once said.
"claims made by both the Obama administration and Israeli President Shimon Peres on behalf of Abbas’s bona fides as a peacemaker." n nHas Peres been right about anything in his entire career? For that matter, can the Obama administration point to a single foreign policy success?