Abbas From the Past

With all calling for Israel to do everything possible to support the 'democratically elected' Mahmoud Abbas, what do we have to show for it?

According to Arutz Sheva this: Abbas Encourages Students to be Martyrs

"They receive their reward in the Garden Of Eden," Abbas told the students returning to school. He reminded them that martyrs and suicide terrorists "brought about the withdrawal from Gaza." His comments came only three months after he told the American ABC television network that suicide bombings are a matter of the past.

Granted that poor Chairman Abbas is doing whatever he can to win support in the face of the growing popularity of Hamas, but just how much capital--political and financial--is Sharon, the US and the world supposed to waste?

Is the Palestinian 'democratic process' anywhere near what is going on in Iraq?

Why are observers critical of including Baathists in the Iraqi government but have no comment about terrorists be included in the Palestinian government and police?

Why does the world keep count of the Iraqi civilians murdered by the insurgents, but turns a blind eye when Palestinians murder other Palestinians on the pretext of assisting Israel?

Why does the media bend over backwards to find all the negative news that's fit to print about Iraq, but bends even further to stress the democracy and hard work of the Palestinain Authority?

Now Bush finds himself in the position of gathering support for Sharon in addition to Abbas. According to the New York Times:

The Bush administration, hoping to strengthen Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the Israeli turmoil after the Gaza withdrawal, is urging allies of the United States to refrain from pressing Israel to make new concessions to Palestinians, senior American officials said this week.

But of course the bottom line is always the same:

American officials said Israel must keep at least some sort of momentum going on issues with the Palestinians, in part to bolster Mr. Abbas. But as a practical matter, they said, there may not be dramatic movements for some time on issues where the Palestinians want to see progress. "We want to see progress in carrying through the agreements to improve the quality of life in the West Bank," said the first senior administration official. "But realistically, what happens now in Gaza is very important. We have to see whether a stop can be put on terrorism in Gaza."

Two points about the Times article:

1. According to the Times, "in the spring, Mr. Sharon and Mr. Abbas agreed on various steps to accompany the Gaza pullout, including releasing some Palestinian prisoners, easing conditions in the West Bank and pulling military forces out of five major cities there." Very nice, but is there ever any agreement between Sharon and Abbas on what the Palestinians need to do?

2. The Times writes that, "On the subject of what Israel must do next, Ms. Rice said in an interview with The New York Times last month that the Gaza pullout could not be the only step Israel took to help achieve a peace accord with the Palestinians. But she added that the Palestinians needed to do more to secure Gaza and the West Bank. She said the two sides needed to act in tandem." It's nice to see the Times 'correct' their earlier misquote of Rice and actually give the full context of her remarks--as pointed out by Jewish Current Issues

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