Word: gaza
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There is finally reason for optimism in the Middle East. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have successfully and democratically conducted the critical transition to the post-Arafat era. They voted in large numbers, ignoring the advice of terrorist organization such as Hamas, and chose a statesman committed to a peaceful resolution with Israel. In his victory speech, Mahmoud Abbas, who won two-thirds of the vote, declared that his people are now ready to resume talks with Israel. We are hopeful that this election signals the beginning of a new phase of resolution...
...boycott the presidential elections, is waning. The government of Israel should do its best to encourage this moderate movement in the Palestinian territories by limiting friction between its military forces and the Palestinian population wherever possible. For his part, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s withdrawal plan from Gaza and the subsequent political realignment of his government indicate a shift in recent months. Israel’s shift away from radicalism and towards pragmatism is heartening. Israel should declare its withdrawal from Gaza part of a multilateral agreement to bring both parties back to the negotiating table and back...
...significance may be measured in countless lives and suffering on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide. But there remains a broad consensus on the overall objectives of the Palestinians, which Abbas is once again proclaiming. And there has certainly never been any reason to believe that Abbas sees Gaza, the 40 percent of the West Bank currently controlled by the Palestinians plus the four settlements Sharon plans to evacuate as a sufficient basis for Palestinian statehood. On the contrary, he reiterates his commitment to Oslo and the Roadmap, both of which are guided by the UN Resolution 242, which...
...West Bank, the movement demonstrated the depth of its political support by winning an estimated 35 percent of the vote. And if they contest the legislative election set for March - which they look set to do - they can expect to win a little over 50 percent in Gaza, which together with a third of the West Bank vote could give them as much as 40 percent of the national vote. The idea that Hamas can be wished away or forcibly eliminated is simply a non-starter for Abbas; instead he plans to draw them into the political process...
...While there's no denying a shift in the atmospherics between Abbas, Sharon and the U.S., fueled by warm gusts of optimism, there's been little substantive movement in the position of either side over the past couple of years. To be sure, Sharon is talking about leaving Gaza and four West Bank settlements, but despite the best hopes of his Labor Party allies in his new government that this would simply be the start of the fulfillment of the Oslo vision, Sharon and those close to him have left no doubt that they see such a move...