Abbas To The Rescue!

Arutz Sheva reported on Friday that already the party is over--Olmert is going to transfer funds to Hamas after all:

Acting PM Ehud Olmert, widely praised earlier this week for his decision not to transfer tax monies to the Hamas-dominated Pal. Authority, has apparently decided to transfer the money after all.

Olmert will convene a ministerial consultation on the matter this Sunday, but the ministers are generally in favor of giving the funds. The feeling is that because Hamas is not yet in power, there is no reason to withhold the money.

That's right. Since good old reliable Fatah is in charge, there's no reason not to forward over the money--even though they have done nothing to stop terrorism, have not kept any of their Road Map obligations, continue to teach their kids to kill Israelis, and of course who knows where the money will end up anyway.

But don't worry--we have Abbas on our side:

Strengthening this position are remarks made yesterday by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). Abbas said that though Hamas is now the PA's largest party, he will not assign the formation of the next government to Hamas until that organization recognizes Israel and agrees to abide by all previous PA obligations. [emphasis added]

Yes, if anyone can stand up to Hamas--it's Abbas!

Not to say that Abbas has seen to it that the Palestinian Arabs have recognized Israel or kept any obligations.

Perhaps what Abbas means is that he will not form a new government unless the head of Hamas can recognize Israel on a map and promises to keep the Palestinian Charter:

Article 22: Zionism is a political movement organically associated with international imperialism and antagonistic to all action for liberation and to progressive movements in the world. It is racist and fanatic in its nature, aggressive, expansionist, and colonial in its aims, and fascist in its methods. Israel is the instrument of the Zionist movement, and geographical base for world imperialism placed strategically in the midst of the Arab homeland to combat the hopes of the Arab nation for liberation, unity, and progress. Israel is a constant source of threat vis-a-vis peace in the Middle East and the whole world. Since the liberation of Palestine will destroy the Zionist and imperialist presence and will contribute to the establishment of peace in the Middle East, the Palestinian people look for the support of all the progressive and peaceful forces and urge them all, irrespective of their affiliations and beliefs, to offer the Palestinian people all aid and support in their just struggle for the liberation of their homeland. [Emphasis added]

Knowing that Abbas is behind us really gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling, no?

Update: I just picked up my 6-year old daughter from a birthday party for a friend. When we stepped outside, she unexpectedly asked me:

Abba, is this the real world?

I'm concerned--if she has trouble distinguishing now, what is she going to do once she is old enough to follow the news coming out of Israel?

Another Update: Mediacrity points out a further hypocrisy in Abbas' statement about getting Hamas to honor the PA agreements:

"Mr. Abbas has called on Hamas to abide by existing agreements made by the Palestinian Authority, which included the internationally backed peace plan known as the road map."

The road map, of course, calls for action against terror groups -- in other words, Hamas. If the road map had been implemented, there would be no Hamas at all. Leave it to the Times to not mention this logical absurdity from the present day, while at the same time diligently dragging up historical trivia to smear Israeli officials.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Olmert and Abbas and Hamas.