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Israel: We'll Give Qurei a Chance
(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon and Khaled Abu Toameh - Israel will deal with PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei despite his links to Arafat if Qurei demonstrates a genuine willingness to fight terrorism, a senior security official told Western diplomatic officials recently. The official said Israel learned a number of lessons from its dealings with Abbas, and that this time the PA prime minister will have to demonstrate real action against the terrorist organizations before meriting an Israeli embrace. One sign of a seriousness to tackle terrorism, the security official said, will be if Qurei takes authority for the various Palestinian security forces out of Arafat's hands and unifies them under one command. "As long as Arafat controls 80-90% of the security forces, there is no indication of any interest in rooting out terrorism," the official said. Qurei, unlike Abbas, is not viewed by the Palestinians as a U.S. or Israeli puppet, and his loyalty to Arafat may paradoxically give him greater maneuverability room than Abbas had. Qurei is considered by both Israeli and foreign diplomatic officials to be a much more seasoned politician than Abbas, with more experience in forging alliances and mobilizing a consensus around decisions. While the U.S. is not expected to publicly embrace Qurei as it did Abbas, talks between U.S. officials and Qurei are taking place, with two such meetings held this week.