MEET THE NEW BOSS; SAME AS THE OLD BOSS

The Palestine Problem - Caroline Glick
Developments within the PA this week indicate that both Israel and the U.S. have been horribly wrong in their decision to accept Abbas. As was the case with Arafat, for many it is unclear whether or not Abbas wishes to or is capable of reining in terrorists. Because they have placed so much stress on Abbas's legitimacy, both the Bush administration and the Israeli government are clearly averse to mentioning that there is a serious problem with what has been happening in the PA since he took over. On the military front, the Palestinians are acquiring weapons systems such as SA-7 Strella anti-aircraft missiles that constitute a major leap forward in their war-making capacity against Israel. Abbas's offer to the Palestinian terror groups outside the PA umbrella to move their headquarters from Damascus to Gaza after Israel's evacuation shows that in his strategic thinking, the territory, once empty of Israeli presence, will be transformed into a center for global terror.

According to Dr. Michael Widlanski, who monitors the PA's media, Hamas and Islamic Jihad representatives claim that their decision to join the PLO is based on the PLO's staged plan for the destruction of Israel and its replacement with an Arab state. The fact that Abbas is responding to his weakness by giving free rein to terrorists in the PA calls into question the entire rationale of the current Israeli and American policies toward Abbas and the PA. (Jerusalem Post)

SEE: Hamas to Join the PLO - Khalid Amayreh
The Palestinian Islamic resistance group, Hamas, and its junior sister, the Islamic Jihad, have decided in principle to join the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

SEE ALSO: The Real Mahmoud Abbas by Joel Mowbray
Turn on Palestinian television or open a Palestinian newspaper these days, and much of the content looks like it could have come from a time capsule from Yasser Arafat’s murderous reign: brainwashed mothers and children discussing the “glory” of “martyrdom,” top clerics calling for the destruction of Israel, and general vilification of the Jewish “oppressors.”

And new, supposedly moderate Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is acting a lot like his old partner Arafat: Hamas and other terrorist organizations have yet to be disarmed, let alone shut down, and terrorist leaders continue using the revolving door to get out of jail.

Although it is still fairly early in Abbas’ tenure—less than three months since his “election” and just under five months since Arafat died—the early record is far from encouraging, yet hardly surprising.

Aside from being a communist Holocaust denier and Arafat’s right-hand man for decades, Abbas has always hailed from the same school of moral thought that “Palestine” includes all of Israel and that there’s nothing inherently wrong with suicide bombings. His criticism of terrorism, which is always noted by the media and the international community so eager to embrace him, is based on his belief that slaughtering innocent civilians is merely strategically unhelpful.

Due to the invaluable efforts of Palestinian Media Watch and its director, Itamar Marcus, we know that Abbas’ early tenure suggests he is simply Arafat in Western clothing. [READ ON]