(Ha'aretz) Yoel Marcus - During Condoleezza Rice's visit to Israel, in public she was all smiles. But in private, she showed herself to be one tough cookie, full of demands on Israel. "She ticked us all off...the way she twisted our arm and said we had to make all kinds of concessions and gestures to strengthen Abu Mazen," said an insider. Israel, she said, must supply the PA with weapons and ammunition. It must be nice to Abu Mazen's buddies and allow them to operate. As if the missiles and the Kassam rockets fired at Israeli towns every day were our doing. As if the chairman of the PA deserves some kind of compensation. One participant said Rice spoke like a teacher scolding her students. She demanded that Israel exercise restraint in responding to terror and let Abu Mazen fight Hamas, lest all of Gaza fall into its clutches. As if Israel were standing in his way. Abu Mazen's 100 days of grace were over long ago, and there's still no sign of him getting a handle on things. If he is really so weak that he can't curb terror, can't discuss compromise, and can't come up with any painful concessions on his side, then he is not a worthy partner.
2005-07-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive