t looks to me, coming right after Abbas decided to confront the militants, that Sharon is undermining Abbas.
I'm sure that was the headline writer's intent, with their "Israel resumes" wording. But as I said, it's not accurate.
Nor is accurate to say that "Abbas decided to confront the militants". He has done no such thing. He has begged and pleaded for a hudna - a temporary truce. The militants need it as much as Abbas, having been greatly reduced in strength by the Israeli counter-measures, and losing support as the people grow tired of war and see no gains from it. (In short, Hamas et al have been losing due to all those Israeli measures which you & others assured us were "counter-productive".)
But Abbas has only taken one or two baby steps in the direction of taking control of the PA, and has done nothing that could be called a "confrontation". To Abbas, Sharon has said, "Quiet will be met with quiet". That's it. Sharon doesn't intend to enter final status negotiations with Hamas, or with Abbas either, until Abbas has given evidence that he can answer for his side of the deal. So long as Hamas is left unmolested to rebuild, they can scupper any deal the minute they choose. |
