(Washington Times) Editorial - If the Palestinians are successful in policing the cities, Israel will be relinquishing more territory. Israel's willingness to continue doing this will depend to a great extent on Abbas's ability to disarm Palestinian terrorists operating out of territory he controls. To his credit, Abbas has ended the poisonous relationship with the Israeli government that was the legacy of Arafat. He has done this by laboring to persuade Palestinians to end attacks against Israel and by firing PA security officials who failed to prevent attacks. The problem is that Abbas has barely begun to do all that will be necessary. Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and 11 other Palestinian radical groups stopped short of a complete cease-fire. and disagreed among themselves over its duration. Even more ominous are reports that Hamas and like-minded groups are taking advantage of the current period of relative quiet to rebuild their forces. Hamas is said to be working at a heightened pace in covert metal workshops in Gaza to produce new weaponry, and there are reports that it has secretly test-fired rockets into the Mediterranean Sea. "Do not get intoxicated by the current calm in the region. As long as Abbas fails to collect arms from the terror groups, the conflict will not end," the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, said on Friday. "These groups are utilizing the calm to further arm themselves as well as produce explosives and build up their depleted ranks." Under Sharon's leadership, Israel is taking the necessary steps to give peace a chance. No final settlement, however, is possible unless Abbas disarms the Palestinian terrorists.
2005-03-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive