(Gatestone Institute) Khaled Abu Toameh - If he wished, Abbas could have reached a deal with the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. But Abbas, like his predecessor Yasser Arafat, turned down a generous offer because such a move would require him to make concessions. Like Arafat, Abbas does not want to go down in history as the first Palestinian leader to make concessions. In 2000, Arafat rejected Prime Minister Ehud Barak's generous offer because he was afraid of being condemned by Arabs and Muslims for having "sold out to the Jews." Abbas has even gone a step further by mobilizing Palestinian public opinion against Israel to a point where his people are not even ready to see him meeting with Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz. The PA has been denouncing Israel leaders, including Mofaz, as war criminals. So when two weeks ago, Palestinians heard that Mofaz was planning to visit Ramallah to meet with Abbas, hundreds took to the streets to protest. If Abbas is not even able to hold a meeting with a senior representative of the Israeli government, how could he ever reach any peace agreement with Israel?
2012-07-12 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive