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An Abundance of Gifts for Abbas
(Washington Jewish Week) Sarah N. Stern - This month, Mahmoud Abbas has been bestowed with a multitude of gifts. The first is that of extending his term as president until elections are held. He has been bestowed with the gifts of billions of dollars in aid that has been pumped into the West Bank so that Fatah is regarded as a more reasonable alternative to Gaza-governed Hamas. Last week, President Obama approved a budget that will give an additional $500 million to the Palestinian Authority. People have forgotten the results of the Gaza withdrawal, a gift the Israelis gave to the Palestinians, of a place to prove to the world that they can govern themselves in peace. It was used as a beachhead to launch more than 10,000 rockets and mortars on the citizens of the Israeli border town of Sderot. And when Israel exercised Article 51 of the UN Charter that calls on the legitimate right of every nation to protect its own citizens, it was handed the Goldstone Report - holding Israel to a standard that would make it virtually impossible to defend her civilian population. The writer is founder and president of EMET, the Endowment for Middle East Truth.