Word: arafats
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...Ariel Sharon prepared for his first-ever meeting with a member of Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization, the old general didn't hide his distaste at the prospect of sitting down with Palestinian leaders. "All of them are from Sodom," Sharon told a friend. "But we'll have to deal with someone after Arafat." Sharon decided to place his bets on the secretary-general of the P.L.O.'s executive committee, a taciturn moderate named Mahmoud Abbas. Sharon invited Abbas to Sycamores Farm, his 600-hectare ranch in the Negev Desert. If Abbas were ever to replace Arafat, Sharon later...
...honeymoon didn't last long. After Mahmoud Abbas was elected Palestinian President on Jan. 9, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon placed a congratulatory call to Yasser Arafat's successor and, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials, said he was "looking forward to meeting with you to discuss issues." Abbas responded that they would meet soon, "God willing." Four days later, the optimism was shattered, at least temporarily, when Palestinian militants killed six Israelis at a freight crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Sharon suspended ties with Abbas the next...
...between their peoples. There appears to be a reservoir of goodwill between the men that should eventually bring them together to discuss ways to overcome the violence. Sharon has long treated Abbas, the first P.L.O. member he ever agreed to meet, with a level of respect he never showed Arafat. At peace talks in Wye River, Md., in 1998, Sharon refused to shake Arafat's hand and pointedly ignored him--but he chatted amicably with Abbas on a sun deck there. In 2003, Sharon invited Abbas to Jerusalem and stood alongside him and President George W. Bush at a summit...
There is finally reason for optimism in the Middle East. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have successfully and democratically conducted the critical transition to the post-Arafat era. They voted in large numbers, ignoring the advice of terrorist organization such as Hamas, and chose a statesman committed to a peaceful resolution with Israel. In his victory speech, Mahmoud Abbas, who won two-thirds of the vote, declared that his people are now ready to resume talks with Israel. We are hopeful that this election signals the beginning of a new phase of resolution...
...whereas the American and Israeli frustration with Arafat grew out of his failure to deliver on promises, Abbas, lacking his predecessor's stature and being a more cautious and consultative sort, will more likely refrain in the first place from making promises on which he can't deliver. Nor to compromise on the Palestinian national consensus without consultation. It'll be a lot harder for Israel and the U.S. to strike a political deal with a democratically accountable Palestinian leader than with an authoritarian national symbol such as Arafat - although if they do eventually reach a deal, it might...