Before Sitting Down With Israel, Shouldn't Abbas Be Sitting Down With The Palestinians?

The question needs to be asked just who Abbas really represents, and whether he really has what it takes to negotiate a peace and to actually make it work.

Currently, this seems unlikely since Hamas, 10 other groups reject all forms of compromise with Israel:

Eleven militant Palestinian groups based in Syria warned on Sunday against a "concession and compromise" policy ahead of a possible round of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.


The message from the groups, which include Gaza rulers Hamas as well as the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine factions, appeared directed at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

At some point someone needs to realize that Israeli concessions under the guise of the usual 'confidence building measures' simply won't win terrorist groups over. For that matter, it's not clear that those concessions are going to win over the Arabs of the West Bank.

Granted, these terrorists are just trying to prevent Abbas from negotiating peace with Israel--but that is exactly the point.

The necessary groundwork for a real and secure peace just has not been laid.
Starting with the Palestinian Arabs.

Technorati Tag: Abbas and Hamas.