(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Yoni Ben Menachem - Hamas is pursuing a new agenda that involves attacking Abbas after the failure of the initiative by Tony Blair, former emissary of the International Quartet, to work out a long-term truce in Gaza. Hamas is in distress because it has no solution to the Gazan malaise and the failure to rehabilitate Gaza. In recent weeks it merely deluded the population that it was on the verge of signing a long-term truce that would mean the lifting of the blockade and the building of a seaport. Abbas anticipated Hamas by taking his own initiative. He is threatening to retire from politics and to announce the cancellation of the Oslo Accords as part of his upcoming speech to the UN General Assembly, convening on Sept. 15. At the same time, Abbas is unable to offer a new diplomatic horizon to the Palestinians or even a temporary solution for their state of affairs. The writer is a senior Middle East analyst for the Jerusalem Center and former Director General and Chief Editor of the Israel Broadcasting Authority.
2015-09-11 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive