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White House Disappointed with Abbas

(Ha'aretz) Aluf Benn - Jerusalem has received indications that the White House too is becoming increasingly disappointed with Abbas. The Americans had pinned many hopes on him, believing that his weight and authority would grow with the job, but they learned that his cabinet is not making the necessary changes and is not fighting against terrorism. Even Colin Powell and his people have stepped up their demands of the Palestinian government to start acting against terrorism. John Wolf, the American envoy in charge of implementing the road map, last Monday warned Dahlan that if no change occurs and the PA does not start acting against terrorism, there will be no Palestinian state and the U.S. will withdraw its support for it. Prime Minister Sharon met Assistant Secretary of State William Burns a few hours after the attacks in Rosh Ha'ayin and Ariel and warned that if the PA fails to act against the terror infrastructure, Israel will do so instead. So far, American pressure has achieved nothing but evasive responses from the Palestinians. Israeli sources assume that if the Americans despair of Abbas, they will threaten to cut the PA's funds off, thus leading to the collapse of its government and the rise of an alternative leadership.
2003-08-15 00:00:00
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