(USA Today) Dennis Ross - The reformers don't expect Abbas to produce a revolution. Rather, they see him beginning a process with leading reformers and the new guard of Fatah brought into his cabinet. Abbas and those around him will now seek to develop an accountable leadership for the first time in Palestinian history. Abbas is engaging in a "national dialogue" to get all Palestinian factions to agree to a cease-fire. He aims to stop all attacks against Israelis and use that to justify an end to Israeli checkpoints and incursions into Palestinian cities. For its part, Israel will want to see that Hamas and others cannot use a cease-fire to rebuild their capabilities and resume terror as soon as they are able. This is not the time to focus on issues that Abbas has no authority to deal with, such as Jerusalem, borders, and refugees. But it is the time to help create an environment in which a new Palestinian leadership is given the chance to succeed.
2005-01-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive