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Source: http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.792436
What Makes Arab Leaders Pragmatic
(Ha'aretz) Moshe Arens - The rulers of Egypt and Jordan, of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, feel threatened by Iran. Their support for the Palestinian cause tends to take a back seat to those measures that need to be taken to assure their survival - which includes a search for potential allies and Israel is seen as such an ally. Does this make these rulers more pragmatic or more moderate? Not really. They are simply giving their most immediate interest - their survival - precedence. How about the "pragmatic" Arab rulers assisting in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Sounds good at first sight, but not very likely. There are Palestinians, like Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who have come to realize that Palestinian terrorism has only damaged the Palestinian cause. But the rejection of terrorism has yet to become part of the education of young Palestinians. The writer served as Israel's Minister of Defense three times and once as Minister of Foreign Affairs.