Palestinians are still far from their goal of a viable state.
Palestinians are still far from their goal of a viable state.
Mahmoud Abbas must now deliver peace
Daily Telegraph UK
[..]Unless the violence stops, Israel will not feel secure enough to allow Gaza its own port and airport and easy connections to the West Bank. And that will condemn the strip to continued economic stagnation. The outside world, whether through grants, trade or the monitoring of borders, can help. But this is at heart a question of Mr Abbas asserting his authority over the gunmen. Yasser Arafat, a bigger and more devious figure than his successor, inspired a dream, but threw away his chances of realising it. Mr Abbas has to prove himself a state-builder by convincing Palestinians and Israelis alike that Gaza is a better place now that the occupation has ended. That is the only basis from which he can hope to overcome the Bantustan-style fragmentation of the West Bank.
There, Mr Sharon will be less willing to cede ground, Gaza being by comparison an outpost, and more difficult to defend than the settlements on or near the "Green Line" between Israel proper and the occupied West Bank. Faced with persistent Palestinian violence, Likud has stolen Labour's clothes and adopted a policy of withdrawal to borders that it is better placed demographically to control. That could mean abandoning outlying settlements, but at the same time consolidating the blocks around Jerusalem and along the corridor to Ariel. While Gaza has set an historic precedent, the Palestinians are still far from their goal of a viable state.
Posted by Ted Belman at August 22, 2005 09:49 AM
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Palestinians are still far from their goal of a viable state.
Mahmoud Abbas must now deliver peace
Daily Telegraph UK
[..]Unless the violence stops, Israel will not feel secure enough to allow Gaza its own port and airport and easy connections to the West Bank. And that will condemn the strip to continued economic stagnation. The outside world, whether through grants, trade or the monitoring of borders, can help. But this is at heart a question of Mr Abbas asserting his authority over the gunmen. Yasser Arafat, a bigger and more devious figure than his successor, inspired a dream, but threw away his chances of realising it. Mr Abbas has to prove himself a state-builder by convincing Palestinians and Israelis alike that Gaza is a better place now that the occupation has ended. That is the only basis from which he can hope to overcome the Bantustan-style fragmentation of the West Bank.
There, Mr Sharon will be less willing to cede ground, Gaza being by comparison an outpost, and more difficult to defend than the settlements on or near the "Green Line" between Israel proper and the occupied West Bank. Faced with persistent Palestinian violence, Likud has stolen Labour's clothes and adopted a policy of withdrawal to borders that it is better placed demographically to control. That could mean abandoning outlying settlements, but at the same time consolidating the blocks around Jerusalem and along the corridor to Ariel. While Gaza has set an historic precedent, the Palestinians are still far from their goal of a viable state.
Posted by Ted Belman at August 22, 2005 09:49 AM