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Mideast Knot

(New York Times) Steven Erlanger - At their first summit meeting last February, at Sharm el-Sheik, Prime Minister Sharon described to Mahmoud Abbas the case of Hasan al-Madhoun, a Gazan and former member of the Palestinian preventive security forces who was responsible for organizing a suicide bombing at Ashdod in March 2004. Sharon asked Abbas to "at least make a start," and provided Madhoun's Gaza address. Abbas promised to arrest him within 48 hours. More than 48 days later, Secretary of State Rice again raised the case of Madhoun to Abbas. Again, he promised an arrest. This time, Madhoun was called into a police station and spent the evening using his cellphone. He left the next day. Then, in June, Madhoun recruited a Gazan woman receiving burn treatment at Soroka hospital to blow it up as a suicide bomber. The woman was caught trying to leave Gaza, with a permit to visit the hospital and explosives attached to her underclothes. This story, confirmed by Palestinian officials, is a serious factor in the loss of confidence that both Israel and the U.S. have in the ability of Abbas to show strong leadership in the face of threats to his own rule. Among Palestinians themselves, there is a sense that the chaos is only increasing. Abbas is admired by Israel and the U.S., and neither wants him to fail. But at 70 he portrays himself as a transitional figure, meaning that few are willing to make sacrifices for him, especially to save a dysfunctional system.
2005-10-14 00:00:00
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