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Abbas' Five Non-Options

(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Tal Becker - At a time when the Middle East is in upheaval, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been pushed to the margins of the diplomatic agenda. The Islamist surge in the region has emboldened Hamas' political ambitions and is making Abbas' Fatah feel ever more isolated and anachronistic. The loss of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, and the Arab uprisings more broadly, have relegated Abbas to the back burner. The present volatile regional environment arguably renders the kinds of heart-wrenching decisions any peace agreement requires of any Palestinian leader exceedingly unpopular and politically out of reach, virtually regardless of Israel's position. The Palestinian president knows only too well that even modest compromises with Israel will have him labeled as a traitor to the Palestinian cause before core Palestinian and Arab constituencies. In the past, his calculation has been that Arab states could provide the legitimacy for a deal and act as a counterweight to public opposition. Presently, he harbors no illusion that this is possible. It is particularly unfortunate that much of the energy and promise that once surrounded the Palestinian state-building project has dissipated. A revitalized state-building campaign can make a tangible difference to the reality on the ground, and help insulate the West Bank from regional turmoil. The writer is an international associate of The Washington Institute.
2012-09-27 00:00:00
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