ABBAS CRACKS DOWN ON WEST BANK FREEDOMS

Mahmoud Abbas: Strongman? (BackSpin)

Is Mahmoud Abbas cracking down on Palestinian journalists to show he's a strongman? Sure seems that way. The International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC) reports that one its news producers, Ghassan Bannoura, was beaten by PA police while on his way to cover an anti-Annapolis protest in Bethlehem.

The police confiscated Bannoura's cell phone and camera and beat Bannoura with batons and rifle butts, fracturing the 27-year-old arm and leg. Dion Nissenbaum ofMcClatchy News comments:

The PA crackdown on reporters was followed by a fatal clash with demonstrators in Hebron at which one anti-Annapolis protester was shot and killed by PA forces.

The PA crackdown has many people wondering what Abbas is up to.

One prominent theory is that Abbas, long criticized as weak and unable to control the "Palestinian street," is trying to do just that.

UPDATE Dec. 2: Abbas' forces have resumed forcibly shaving Hamas beards.