(Times of Israel) Avi Issacharoff - At the UN, PA President Mahmoud Abbas sounded one of his most aggressive speeches against Israel, including accusations of genocide. Yet Abbas is the same man who gave us information on the three kidnapped teens. Israel didn't commit any genocide in Gaza and the PA knows it. So why did Abbas go so far and say what he said? Palestinian public opinion. If elections were held today, Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh would defeat Abbas. He also knows that Hamas is more popular in the West Bank than in Gaza. According to Monday's poll from Khalil Shikaki, more people in the West Bank than in Gaza support firing rockets at Israel from population centers. Abbas' extreme words were meant to prevent a further drift of public opinion, which does not look kindly upon Abbas' security cooperation with Israel.
2014-10-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive