WAR: Abbas Refers to Israel As Zionist Enemy

Presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas upped the tone of his rhetoric on the campaign trail by referring to Israel as the Zionist enemy. Abbas, considered to be a moderate, has taken on a harsh tone towards Israel on the campaign trail. Israel has taken note of this, however, they have shelved the campaign rhetoric for now and have declined to comment on it.




Much of this no doubt is campaign rhetoric. Abbas like Sharon, must appeal to the more militant element in their respective parties. Without it, he might still win, but would have a divided vote and be unable to rule effectively not stop the violence. Stopping the violence will be the yardstick by which Israel and the U.S. measure him as a leader.


[edit on 1/4/05 by FredT]

If he is talking this way now, I wonder if his tone will change after the election.

Why did the Israelis shell the town (as if we'll ever know the true answer)? They too should be practicing restraint at this critical time of change.

Originally posted by jsobecky

Why did the Israelis shell the town

The IDF fired a tank shell toward a Hamas cell responsible for firing mortar shells at the Erez industrial zone several hours earlier. One of the six mortar shells they fired exploded near a school bus that was transporting children. None of the students were wounded but the bus was damaged.

In the past two weeks eighty mortar shells were fired at Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip wounding eleven Israelis at the Erez industrial site on Sunday.

Originally posted by jsobecky

If he is talking this way now, I wonder if his tone will change after the election.

No. Those are Palestinian positions. It is a mistake to think that because Arafat is dead that there is going to be sudden change in the Palestinian views.

Powell says, next Palestinian leader must end terrorist violence.

"If they don't move in that direction, then we're going to be stuck again. So we need reformed Palestinian leadership that deals with this terrorist threat," Powell told NBC's "Meet the Press." If Abbas becomes president, "he may have to undertake operations against them....If he does that, and shows a real commitment to end terror, I think he will find an Israeli partner ready to work with him, and he will certainly find the international community, and the especially the United States, ready to play an important role."

Text of Powell Interview (State Department)

From the Israeli government's perspective, Abbas's comments at his public appearances are harsh and sometimes strike too hard. He emphasizes the issue of Jerusalem and refugee rights, calls for prisoner release, and even praises shahids (martyrs).

In the Palestinian eyes, the picture is different, even opposite. Palestinian caricaturist Umiya Juha of the PA mouthpiece Al Hayyat Al Jedida last week drew three cartoons presenting Abbas in the eye of the onlooker. In the first, in Israeli eyes, Abbas looks like a miserable dwarf next to the huge figure of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. In the second, he is seen through the eyes of Arab rulers, and he is carrying a sign announcing he was chosen by a 99.999 percent majority and a spiked club. In the eyes of some of the Palestinian public, he is seen as a dead-ringer for Arafat, wearing a black and white kaffiyeh. In the fourth drawing, the most important, Juha explains who the real Abbas is - and she draws him as an old grandmother knitting from colored balls of yarn.

full article

And from the same one :

Even those who disparage Mustafa Barghouti's power believe he can garner close to 20 percent of the vote. One of the rumors has it that at the last minute Hamas will instruct its people to vote Barghouti, and then he will narrow the gap. The picture evident from all this is that Barghouti's positions are the alternatives to Abbas's. In other words, if we don't succeed with Abbas, there won't be anyone else.

I guess in the verge of elections Palestinians are making a choice somehow similar to American one -no matter how many faux pas (es?) Abbas is going to make, they won't have anybody else to vote for, if they want peaceful result. Abbas statement proves that he is not afraid of any competition in coming elections -so why not to burst some issues?
( not that I agree with this one - but I do understand the way of thinking...)

[edit on 4-1-2005 by jazzgul]

There will never be peace with palastians.

Riwka
Thanks for the background on the incident.

It doesn't seem too promising for peace over there. Abbas talks tough, to appease Hamas? What will happen when he does not back up his words with his actions? Will he be seen as too accomodating by the militant factions?

And why is is so difficult to find good, strong, reasonable candidates for the Palestinian leadership? Is this Arafat's legacy, that he managed to squash all opposition during his reign?