[Washington Times] Editorial - In its effort to marginalize Palestinian rejectionists, the Bush administration is seeking to prop up PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, despite a considerable body of evidence that Abbas is not a serious partner for peace. The cease-fire forestalled an Israeli invasion of Gaza to thwart the terrorists who routinely fire rockets into neighboring Israeli towns. Most important of all, the "cease-fire" has permitted the terrorists to continue smuggling arms from Egypt into Gaza for use against Israel - smuggling made possible by the lethargic performance of Egyptian security forces on the other side of the border. Meanwhile, in Gaza, the Hamas-dominated PA government actively encourages a who's who of Iranian- and Syrian-backed terrorist organizations to establish their presence, while Abbas and security services loyal to him do nothing to stop them. Indeed, his own Fatah organization includes the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, one of the most deadly terrorist organizations. Under current conditions - with Israeli forces no longer patrolling the Gaza/Egypt border and no Palestinian security force in place to stop the terrorist organizations from smuggling heavy weaponry into Gaza (or conducting military operations against the terrorists already operating there) - Islamofascist forces are growing stronger and Israel's deterrent capability grows weaker.
2006-12-26 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive