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Abu Mazen's Two Faces
(New York Sun, 31Dec04) - Editorial Yasser Arafat's heir apparent, Mahmoud Abbas, was fetched up in Jenin on the shoulders of Zakaria Zubeidi, the local leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The Brigades has been designated a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department, which reports, "Al-Aqsa has carried out shootings and suicide operations against Israeli civilians and military personnel and has killed Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel. At least five American citizens - four of them dual American-Israeli citizens - were killed in al-Aqsa's attacks. In January 2002, al-Aqsa claimed responsibility for the first suicide bombing carried out by a female." In his campaign speeches, Abbas has called for a "right of return" for Palestinian Arab "refugees" to Israel, code for the destruction of the Jewish state. He vowed to follow Arafat's line. Mr. Bush is expected to invite Abbas to the White House in February after his leadership is ratified in a sham election scheduled for Jan. 9. Intimidation by Abbas' PA is such that Arab voters are afraid even to be seen with the campaign literature of Abbas' rivals.