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Why Salam Fayyad Cannot Deliver

(Hudson Institute New York) Khaled Abu Toameh - Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad may be a good man with good intentions, but those who think that he will be able to persuade the Palestinians to make peace with Israel are deluding themselves. In Palestinian culture, it is more important if one graduates from an Israeli prison than from the University of Texas at Austin. Fayyad never spent a day in an Israeli jail. Nor did he or any of his sons take an active role in the "struggle" against Israel. In the parliamentary election in 2006, Fayyad ran as an independent candidate at the head of a party called "Third Way." His party got less than 2% of the votes. Fatah, whose followers control large parts of the West Bank, views Fayyad as a major threat to its power. In fact, Fatah officials have long been accusing Fayyad of working, with the help of the Americans and Israelis, to undermine Fatah's authority in the West Bank. On a number of occasions, disgruntled Fatah activists have distributed leaflets denouncing Fayyad as a "collaborator"" with Israel.
2010-04-23 08:42:13
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