Mahmoud Abbas: Failing the Palestinians and Peace

Mahmoud AbbasMahmoud Abbas, (aka Abu Mazen) has been a failure as the Palestinian “Rais.” He failed to lead the Palestinian Authority (PA) toward peace with Israel, and he mismanaged the alleged goal to achieve statehood for the Palestinians. Instead of facing the tough issues and making compromises required in negotiating peace and statehood with the Israelis, Abbas chose an alliance with the Gaza controlled terrorist group Hamas. Following Abbas’ pact with Hamas last April, Israel broke off peace negotiations with the Palestinians, just days before the talks brokered by Secretary of State John Kerry were scheduled to expire.

Abbas isn’t only confusing Israelis, Americans, and is his Europeans patrons, he is perplexing his own Palestinian consituents. Following last summer’s Gaza War between Hamas and Israel, Abbas threatened to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) and saught to indict Israel on war crimes. PA Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki met with the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC last August to explore ways of joining the court by PA President Abbas signing the Rome Statute.  When, however, the U.S. Congress threatened to cut off all funding to Palestine if Abbas filed war crimes charges against Israel, Abbas backed off. At the same time though, Israel’s Prime Minister threatened to counter-sue, alleging that the rockets fired by Hamas terrorists into Israeli civilian areas constituted “double war” crimes.

The Israeli Law Center called Shurat-HaDin, led by Nitsana Darshan-Leitner submitted a complaint against Mahmoud Abbas in the ICC for “war crimes.” The complaint claims that Abbas may be tried for his responsibility in the missile attacks targeting Israeli cities, executed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which Abbas heads. It charges that Fatah, also led by Abbas, was responsible for several missile attacks on Israeli cities. Darshn-Leitner pointed out that Fatah leader Abbas may be tried by the ICC. Abbas is a citizen of Jordan and Jordan is a member-state of the ICC. The ICC has jurisdiction over crimes committed by a citizen of a member state. Darshan-Leitner added, the organization “will not allow Fatah to carry out rocket attacks on Israeli population centers, while hypocritically advocating Palestinian membership in the ICC. Abbas falsely believes that alleged crimes against Arabs are the only ones that should be prosecuted.”

A week ago, Abbas threatened again. This time he fingered the security co-ordination with Israel following the death of Ziad Abu Ein, 55, PA Minister without Portfolio. He promptly backtracked. On November 29, 2014, Abbas declared  that if the United Nations Security Council rejects the Palestinian statehood resolution, he will seek membership in the ICC. He said, “We will seek Palestinian membership in international organizations, including the International Criminal Court in the Hague. We will also reassess our ties with Israel, including ending the security cooperation between us.”

Abbas’ latest gambit is a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution that would force Israel to withdraw from Judea and Samaria (West Bank) within two-years. According to press reports, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry requested to postpone the Palestinian initiative at the UNSC until after the Israeli elections, (March 17, 2015) but the Palestinians refused. PA Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki intimated to reporters that there was disagreement between the Americans and Palestinians on how the elections in Israel would or wouldn’t advance the PA UNSC resolution. Kerry believed that a UNSC vote before the elections would impact adversely on the winners. In other words, a vote before the elections would strengthen Netanyahu and the Right in Israel. Maliki argued that a vote before January, 2015 would be rather positive.

At a closed meeting last week with 28 EU ambassadors, John Kerry revealed that he was asked by former Israeli president Shimon Peres and Tzipi Livni to prevent the Palestinian initiative at the UNSC because it will help “Netanyahu and Bennett (Jewish Home Party chairman) in the upcoming elections.” Maliki posited that Kerry himself has not abided by his pledge not to intervene in the Israeli elections.

Also last week in London, Secretary of State Kerry met with Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, and according to a PA senior official, Kerry posed a number of U.S. principles that should be included in the Palestinian UNSC resolution. Kerry supposedly refused the two year time period demand by the PA for Israeli withdrawal. The resolution as Kerry suggested should include recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, as well as U.S. opposition to declare Jerusalem as a joint capital for Palestine and Israel. Erekat rejected the U.S. proposals. Kerry declared afterward that the U.S. does not accept the Jordanian (presenting the Palestinian resolution)  and French resolutions. He warned that if the Palestinians insist on presenting the resolutions, the U.S. would use its veto power. Erekat rejected Kerry’s ideas, and insisted that the resolutions would be submitted. As of December 25, 2014, Abbas rejected an Arab League request to delay the submission of the Palestinian statehood until January when five new members who support the Palestinian cause will join the Security Council.

Abbas’ gambits notwithstanding, the increased authoritarianism of Abu Mazen is reflected in a recent survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. It indicates that 66% of Palestinians are afraid to criticise Abu Mazen and the PA, and 80% consider the PA institutions to be corrupt and infected with nepotism. Last summer, according to the survey, support for Abbas (Abu Mazen) declined to 35% from 50%. “There is no doubt about the fact that outlawing freedoms and rights, especially of professional unions, is a factor in Abbas’ decline in popularity,” said Dr. Khalil Shikaki, one of the survey takers

PA security agents inspect what is written in the social media, and threaten those who criticize Abbas. Abu Mazen critics point out that after a decade in power he is controlling all systems of government to such an extent as to minimize all resistance. Perceived political rivals such as Mohammad Dahlan, who once served as Abu Mazen’s assistant, and Salam Fayyad, the former Prime Minister of the PA, are vilified by Abbas. Following the Palestinian Unity government formation, headed by Rami Hamdallah last May, elections were to follow. But, once again, internal squabbling prevented it, and added to it was Abbas’ fear of a Hamas victory.

Abu Mazen’s strategy for the establishment of a Palestinian state has reached a cul-de-sac.  None of his gambits proved successful. His rivalry with Hamas is bitter and ongoing, despite the alliance he forged at the expense of negotiations with Israel. And, like his predecessor Yasser Arafat, he balks at the idea of ‘ending the conflict’ with Israel. He knows full well that this might be a death sentence for him, targeting him for assassination. It is for this reason that Abbas and the PA are unlikely to forgo the “right of return” of Palestinian refugees to Israel. Israel for its part, cannot accept such a demographic suicide. This is why Abbas would rather avoid negotiations with Israel and bypass it by going to the UNSC. It is also the ostensible reason why peace with Israel cannot be achieved, and as a result, the Palestinian people continue to suffer political and economic deprivation. Abbas has not been the solution to the Palestinian problems; rather, he has been responsible for failing them.

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  • StanleyT

    Roger Cohen (believe it or not) or the New York Times (believe it or not) has just written a very interesting article placing the blame for the failure of the peace (aka piece!) talks squarely on Abbas. It was reprinted in today’s National Post:

    http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/12/29/roger-cohen-how-the-palestinians-killed-the-peace-talks-again/

    • Yusuf S. Ghazzali

      I am not surprised at all given New York Times is owned by a Jewish-American! :)

      • Daniel Rubio

        Which once more exposes your utter ignorance to the world. If you had read a little bit more than your koran, you’d know that the New York Times is almost as antisemitic as your filthy “holy” book. The comment to which you so swiftly responded was showing its surprise at the fact that even that anti-Israeli rag, the NYT, dared to publish a negative view on your buddy, Abbas the antisemite.

        But then, this is too much information for your muslim-fried brain to handle.

  • Space Cowboy

    I hate to rain on Mr. Puder’s naive parade, but Abbas has never been about making peace with Jewish infidels or with any other infidels for that matter. As the jihad being waged by ALL MUSLIMS IN THE WORLD against ALL INFIDELS IN THE WORLD in the cause of Allah to ultimately make Islam and its followers supreme throughout the world, per the dictates of Islam can’t ever end until all the infidels have been either converted to Islam or otherwise have been killed or subjugated into harsh and degrading dhimmitude. Or, in other words, until Islam and its followers have been made supreme.

    The only kind of agreement Abbas and, indeed, ALL MUSLIMS IN THE WORLD, can make with infidels short of total Islamic supremacy is a Hudna modeled off of Muhammad’s infamous Treaty of Hudaibiya that he made with the Quraish for 10 years but subsequently broke after only 2 years when he had gained military superiority.

    Hence, the so-called Peace Process in Israel is an unmitigated scam used by Muslims to weaken Israel. Additionally, Obama’s negotiations with the Iranian Mullah’s is another unmitigated scam used to buy more time in which to complete their quest for nuclear weapons.

    Moreover, the jihad the so-called Palestinians are waging against the Jewish infidels in Israel has never been about the creation of a Palestinian state, as nation-states are a manifestation of the infidel world and totally un-Islamic. Instead, it’s about making Islam and its followers supreme.

    The so-called Palestinian people are Muslims that expropriated the name “Palestinian” from the Jewish people to dupe gullible infidels like Mr. Puder here. Nonetheless, the so-called Palestinian people are nothing but the proxies of the greater Islamic totalitarian world and share their cause of Islamic world dominance.

    The truth is if you are an infidel and at the same time hate the Jewish infidels, then you are extremely self-hating. As all infidels in the world, including the Jewish infidels, are all in the same exact boat together, because we are all the targets of the Islamic totalitarian world. Divided we fall, but united we stand.

    I believe Mr. Puder’s problem here is he actually believes the false narrative that the vast overwhelming majority of Muslims in the world are moderate Muslims, short of the tiny minority of Muslims that are Islamists, extremists, radicals, and terrorists.

    Nevertheless, the truth is ALL MUSLIMS IN THE WORLD are jihadists in one form or another, as waging jihad in the cause of Allah against ALL INFIDELS IN THE WORLD to ultimately make Islam and its followers supreme throughout the world, is a fundamental holy obligation COMPULSORY for ALL MUSLIMS IN THE WORLD in one form or another, including the women and children.

    Mr. Puder sees all the non-violent Muslims living throughout the infidel world and indeed in the Islamic totalitarian world as well and naively assumes that they are all so-called moderate Muslims.

    However, Muslim immigrants living in the infidel world only wage stealth jihad non-violently by design for the strategic purposes of mass Muslim infiltration of our governments, Islamization of our societies, and for eventual demographic conquest. As to wage jihad violently on a large scale in the infidel world would inevitably result in their quick defeat and also in the quick mass expulsion of all Muslim immigrants.

    As a matter of fact, Muslims only wage jihad violently where there is little to no resistance, i.e., throughout the Islamic totalitarian world and the surrounding infidel countries such as in Israel.

    Mr. Puder apparently still has a lot to learn about the nature of our Islamic enemies.

  • http://geoffreybritain.wordpress.com/ Geoffrey_Britain

    The author states that Abbas has failed the Palestinian people. That conclusion rests upon the presumption that the Palestinian people want peace with Israel. The Palestinian people want genocide not peace. Israel is the salt in Islam’s wound but the wound is the existence of any other religion. Islam hates Judaism the most because it puts the lie to Islam more thoroughly than any other religion and because they are a minority. The weaker the victim the more surely will the bully focus upon them.

    That Abbas has solidified his power base and eliminated his rivals is typical ‘strong man’ behavior. The alternative to Abbas is Hamas. Abbas cannot sign anything with the Israeli’s that results in anything less than the genocide of Israel, for if he does, his own people will kill him. So he plays a delaying game, counting on the EU, UN and Obama to eventually force Israel to agree to suicidal conditions.

    • Elisheva

      There are Palestinians that want Peace with Israel. There are Palestinians that prefer to stay with Israel even if a Palestinian State was established. Gatestone.org publishes many articles written by Palestinians. Today Khaled Abu Toameh wrote a simiar artcle talking about Abbas’ Dictatorial behavior.
      http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4987/palestinian-women

      Many Palestinians are enlightened and feel hopeless in the face of the corrupt leadership and use of threats to their free speech.

      • wesley69

        This situation described sounds like Sharpton, Jackson and the grievance industry. If Blacks rejected these race hustlers, the relations between the races would improve as it did before Obama took office. Abbas and his minions need to keep the conflict alive between Israel and the Palestinian people. Otherwise, if compromise is allowed, Abbas and his cronies may be out of a job and power.

        • Elisheva

          I think the leaders are power hungry megalomaniacs who only care about themselves and their position of power. They have no concern for others. They are Narcissistic Megalomaniacs. The UN, White House and EU are abetting them out of hatred for Israel and the Jews.

          • http://geoffreybritain.wordpress.com/ Geoffrey_Britain

            Leaders cannot lead where followers refuse to go.

      • http://geoffreybritain.wordpress.com/ Geoffrey_Britain

        Of course there are a small minority of Palestinians who want peace with Israel. I suspect about 15%. That’s about the same percentage of Egyptians who do NOT favor the death penalty for apostasy. Different issue, same dynamic (people who think for themselves and are not doctrinal Muslims).

        Careful in siting articles written for western journals by Palestinians who purport to be in favor of peace. Islam’s doctrines of Taqiyya and Muruna make such assertions at best questionable. A good barometer for checking the sincerity of those writers would be if they said out front that they acknowledge Israel’s right to exist and do not favor a Palestinian ‘right of return’. Both are non-negotiable for Israel.

        Finally, where are the anonymous Palestinian voices on the Internet stating they want peace, acknowledge Israel’s right to exist and reject the doctrine of a right to return?

        • http://geoffreybritain.wordpress.com/ Geoffrey_Britain

          And the sound of… crickets.

          PS: I have yet to receive a reply when I ask defenders of ‘moderate’ Muslims where are all the anonymous Muslims on the internet protesting against the terrorism and violence…

          • Elisheva

            Things got worse with John Kerry pushing the US agenda. The “Peace Process” and the “Two State Solution” led to more radicalism. I agree that the numbers of Israel loving Arabs are small. I lived in Askelon and Haifa before the world started the peace process and there were better relations then between Jews and Muslims living in Israel. We traveled to Egypt many times in the 1980′s.

      • Yusuf S. Ghazzali

        Those are self-hating palestinians who lack any manly fiber of honor…..lowlifes not needed by the real palestinians

        • Elisheva

          I can see that you are one of the Israel haters who would prefer misery to peaceful coexistence and tolerance. “Honor” is just “ego” to me. You will not be happy until the world is all Islamic.

  • JayWye

    Abbas/Abu Mazen never intended to negotiate peace with Israel. He intended to “negotiate” while waging war against Israel,to eliminate it. Same as Hamas.

    Meanwhile,he milks the West for billions of dollars in aid money,that mostly gets siphoned off into personal accounts,same as Arafat did.

    • Yusuf S. Ghazzali

      No country milks the generous Americans more than the “Jewish state” but an apartheid state is not sustainable in the long run no matter how much it is aided militarily and economically by a superpower.

      • Daniel Rubio

        No, you’re wrong. The countries where the “Yusuf”s dwell milk the US and the Western world, for that matter, many times more. They drain them of their money, of their fighting men and women and of their resources. Afghanistan and Iraq have costed the US many times over the amount of aid they have provided Israel. Egypt itself was until recently the largest recipient of US aid in the Middle East. And all this for nothing. Yusuf is still Yusuf, an impoverished, intellectual minnow, full of resentments, cheer-leading suicide bombers and only left with his wet dreams of ruling the world and imposing the rants of his pedophile “prophet” over millions of unsuspecting victims.

  • JayWye

    I also blame the US,for taking these “Palestinians” seriously,as if they really wanted any peace agreement that leaves Israel existing.
    The US could solve this easily,by throwing it’s full and -unconditional- support behind Israel,and telling the “Palestinians” that all aid money will go to Israel until the “Palestinians” come to a solid peace treaty with Israel,and that the US will NOT broker any more “ceasefires” between them and Israel when they start another war or conflict with Israel. No more pressuring Israel to accept “ceasefires” with the enemy,that Israel is free to finish any war the “Palestinians” (or anyone else) start.
    Put ALL the pressure on the “Palestinians”,not on Israel.

  • Yusuf S. Ghazzali

    The Only solution remaining is one state for both Palestinians and Jews. The racist state of Israel should be dissolved peacefully just as apartheid South Africa was. Only then can we know peace in the blessed land of the prophets.

    • Elisheva

      You are the “racist”. There is no apartheid in Israel. Arabs and Jews live side by side. Arabs can vote and are represented in the Kinesset. You express lies and propaganda. There are churches and mosques in Israel. It is the Muslim countries that have apartheid. You have been brainwashed into hating.

    • Well Done

      Yusuf, you say? Is that Arabic for “BOZO”?