Word: gaza
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...demands, he also risks reprisals from his own people that could cost him his job and very possibly his life. No sooner had Abbas agreed to a cease-fire last Tuesday than Palestinian militants staged two brazen attacks. First they fired mortars and rockets on Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip. Then 300 gunmen from Hamas and the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades staged an assault on the Saraya, the main prison and Palestinian Authority military base in Gaza City. In response, Abbas took his boldest step yet to assert his authority, firing at least 25 top security officials and going...
...pessimistic. While in the first few days after the cease-fire it appeared likely that Hamas and similar groups would ignore the cease-fire because they were not officially signatories to it, Abbas has been remarkably successful in convincing such groups to lay down their arms. After meeting in Gaza with Abbas yesterday, Hamas pledged to stop violence against Israel as part of a general halt in attacks by all militant groups. Hamas even went so far as to foreswear retaliatory actions if Palestinians are attacked by Israel and agreed to consult the Palestinian Authority before taking any reprisals...
...among both the Israeli and Palestinian populations as the conflict has dragged on for an ever longer period of time, which might partly explain the recent willingness of Hamas and other groups to forego acts of violence. Yet militant elements still enjoy strong support in the West Bank and Gaza, and their peacefulness may not last if they continue to be shut out of power. Abbas and Sharon need to recognize that these groups cannot be ignored and can only be destroyed at a cost in human lives and Palestinian bitterness so high as to make it unacceptable. They will...
...past week, then, has seen a fairly dramatic bettering of the security situation in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. The cease-fire agreed to by Sharon and Abbas at first seemed in danger of being completely ignored by the terrorist organizations that Israel most fears, but Abbas managed to convince them to put down their arms and foreswear aggressive action against Israel. The Palestinians so far have stuck to the agreement and made some very tough choices in doing so; we hope that Sharon and the Israeli government will show the same commitment. Finally, we hope that President Bush...
...long maintained that a comprehensive final-status deal with the Palestinians is beyond reach for the foreseeable future, and that long-term interim agreements are a more realistic goal. His overriding concern right now is to calm in the security situation in order to complete his unilateral evacuation of Gaza and four West Bank settlements. Sharon has enjoyed unprecedented backing from the Bush administration, which has altered the traditional framework in which the U.S. had prescribed certain actions and restraints to the Israelis; maintaining that support is the priority that will shape his engagement with Abbas...