Word: yasser
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...Although the Israelis warned that Hamas and the others would use the "hudna" simply as an opportunity to regroup, but they - and the Bush Administration - recognized that the man they had in effect chosen to lead the Palestinians (in the hope of finally sidelining Yasser Arafat) had negligible political support among his own people, and Washington urged Sharon to take steps that would shore up Abbas's credibility among on the Palestinian street and refrain from actions that undermined...
...prime minister's political weakness. His function in the current process has essentially been that of an emissary between the Israelis and Americans on the one hand, and those Palestinians with whom they refuse to talk directly - Hamas, JI, the various Fatah militias and terrorist groups and Palestinian president Yasser Arafat. Abbas has been more than simply a messenger, of course. He believes passionately that the armed intifada has brought catastrophe on the Palestinian national cause, and that all will be lost unless violence against Israel is ended unconditionally. But Abbas's only political weapon is the threat to resign...
...response to pressure following Tuesday's Jerusalem bombing, Abbas threatened to resign unless Yasser Arafat agreed to order Palestinian security forces (of which he controls the most important units) to crack down on Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Regardless of the outcome of their discussions, Thursday's assassination of a Hamas leader who had played a key role in negotiating the "hudna" made a Palestinian crackdown on Hamas and Islamic Jihad a non-starter. Abbas's security chief, Mohammed Dahlan, said his proposed set of actions against Hamas would have to be reassessed - PA security forces can't be seen...
...reason the real business appears to be being conducted outside of the "roadmap" framework may be some of the weaknesses of the framework itself. For example, the Bush Administration may have convinced itself that Prime Minister Abbas is now the leader of the Palestinians and that Yasser Arafat no longer counts. But no one in the Middle East believes that Abbas is really the leader of the Palestinians - not the Israelis, not the Palestinians or their Arab neighbors, and certainly not Mr. Abbas himself. Indeed, that's an integral part of the message Abbas will bring to the White House...
...fact that while Sharon is the executive in charge of all Israeli actions, Abbas essentially functions as a mediator between the Americans and Israelis on the one hand, and the Palestinians with whom they refuse to talk on the other - Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the militants of Fatah and Yasser Arafat. He rules at Arafat's pleasure, and the only leverage Abbas has is to threaten to quit. He has repeatedly used that device in his clashes with Arafat, and he does the same in Washington, warning that unless the U.S. can squeeze more concessions out of Israel...