Unfortunately, Fatah's ambitions have always been its greatest weakness. They are the reason the party became so irredentist that even its Holocaust denying leader, President Mahmoud Abbas, the man responsible for funding the horrific Munich Olympics terror attack in 1972 seems positively reasonable in comparison.
In the past week Israel has been subject to a number of terrorist attacks validating the fears of those who were skeptical of disengagement.
Additionally, Prime Minister Ahmed Quriea has talked belligerently of a "battle for Jerusalem" and Lands Authority chief Freih Abu Meddain wishes to name evacuated Israeli towns in Gaza for "martyrs" and terrorist leaders like Sheikh Yassin. The violent actions of terrorist organizations under his jurisdiction and indendiary statements by his colleagues make Mr. Abbas appear moderate and concilliatory in comparison, but they hardly encourage the world that Fatah is committed to the peace that would so benefit the Palestinian people.
Make no mistake Mr. Abbas is no peacenik. He was a leading member of the PLO, a terrorist organization for many years. And even after Israel accepted the PLO in 1993, Mr. Abbas spent the subsequent years at Yasser Arafat's side, not rocking the boat, even as Mr. Arafat violated the letter and spirit of every agreement he made with Israel.
But now is a different time, and in the current reality of the Middle East, Mr. Sharon has just boldly gone where Mr. Abbas has refused to tread. Mr. Sharon's withdrawal of Israeli settlers from Gaza, completed last week, was a historic shift that should be acknowledged and extended.
Now that Mr. Sharon has demonstrated that he is able to carry out a territorial compromise, Mr. Abbas needs to confront, disarm and defeat the terrorist organzations that thrive under his authority. Mr. Abbas and Fatah would be foolish and shortsighted not to match Mr. Sharon's initiative by fulfilling their "Road Map" obligations and (by not acting) reduce the chances of any further progress toward peace. If they fail to stop or even reduce terror, they may well deprive their government of any chance of leading Palestine to the self-determination that it desires.
The New York Times though, unfortunately (and predictably) ran "The Battle for Israel's Future."
Technorati Tag: Israel, New+York+Times.
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.
New candor times editorial
I read the following editorial, "The Battle for Palestine's Future," in the New Candor Times:
Unfortunately, Fatah's ambitions have always been its greatest weakness. They are the reason the party became so irredentist that even its Holocaust denying leader, President Mahmoud Abbas, the man responsible for funding the horrific Munich Olympics terror attack in 1972 seems positively reasonable in comparison.
In the past week Israel has been subject to a number of terrorist attacks validating the fears of those who were skeptical of disengagement.
Additionally, Prime Minister Ahmed Quriea has talked belligerently of a "battle for Jerusalem" and Lands Authority chief Freih Abu Meddain wishes to name evacuated Israeli towns in Gaza for "martyrs" and terrorist leaders like Sheikh Yassin. The violent actions of terrorist organizations under his jurisdiction and indendiary statements by his colleagues make Mr. Abbas appear moderate and concilliatory in comparison, but they hardly encourage the world that Fatah is committed to the peace that would so benefit the Palestinian people.
Make no mistake Mr. Abbas is no peacenik. He was a leading member of the PLO, a terrorist organization for many years. And even after Israel accepted the PLO in 1993, Mr. Abbas spent the subsequent years at Yasser Arafat's side, not rocking the boat, even as Mr. Arafat violated the letter and spirit of every agreement he made with Israel.
But now is a different time, and in the current reality of the Middle East, Mr. Sharon has just boldly gone where Mr. Abbas has refused to tread. Mr. Sharon's withdrawal of Israeli settlers from Gaza, completed last week, was a historic shift that should be acknowledged and extended.
Now that Mr. Sharon has demonstrated that he is able to carry out a territorial compromise, Mr. Abbas needs to confront, disarm and defeat the terrorist organzations that thrive under his authority. Mr. Abbas and Fatah would be foolish and shortsighted not to match Mr. Sharon's initiative by fulfilling their "Road Map" obligations and (by not acting) reduce the chances of any further progress toward peace. If they fail to stop or even reduce terror, they may well deprive their government of any chance of leading Palestine to the self-determination that it desires.
The New York Times though, unfortunately (and predictably) ran "The Battle for Israel's Future."
Technorati Tag: Israel, New+York+Times.
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.
Posted by David Gerstman at September 1, 2005 05:03 AM