ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style3 { height: 68px; } .MsoNormal {} h1 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style4 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style6 { height: 69px; } h2 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style7 { width: 285px; } .style8 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> &nbsp;<table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr> <td height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style7"> <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140" class="style6"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" class="style6"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td height="2" class="style7"></td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style4">Israeli and Palestinian&#39;s New Shot at Peace</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curt</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>is<a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright August 21, 2010<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="style8">A</span>greeing to start peace talks in Washington Sept. 2, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nentanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rolled the dice, bypassing the militant group Hamas, the ruling authority in the Gaza Strip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Giving the Obama administration a welcomed shot of adrenalin, the new peace talks defy profits of doom-and-gloom that warn Abbas against losing more credibility with Palestinians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Hamas and other Islamist groups want peace talks to fail and resume the  infifada or uprising against Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Hamas has never supported any prior peace agreement and continues its war against the Jewish State.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When Israeli commandos boarded a Cypress-based relief boat bound for Gaza May 31 and killed nine Turkish citizens, Israeli-international relations hit new lows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Without Hamas cooperation, Abbas felt inclined to get his own peace started..</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>While Hamas continues its isolation and opposition to peacemaking, Abbas learned a valuable lesson from his late predecessor Yasser Arafat:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>That war with Israel only harms the Palestinian people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>After conservative Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, still comatose in a Tel Aviv nursing home, handed over Gaza Sept. 1, 2005, a power struggle erupted between Abbas Palestinian Authority and Hamas Ismail Haniyeh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Arafat died Nov. 11 2004, never seeing Gaza in Palestinian hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Nor did he live to see Hamas military coup, seizing Gaza from Fatah June 14, 2007.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Abbas recent decision to resume direct talks with Israel carries political risks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Abbas chose negotiation over the perpetual warfare, chaos and poverty promised by Hamas and other militant Islamic groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Despite all the saber-rattling, Abbas knows that Hamas or other Islamic groups cannot defeat Israel.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Returning to direct talks has the blessing of the so-called Quartet, including the European Union, United Nations, United States and Russia, all wishing progress toward direct status talks between Israelis and Palestinians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Cynics can t see how Abbas and the Palestinian Authority can enter peace talks when they control only 50% of the population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Hamas has already denounced Abbas plans to travel to Washington Sept. 2 to meet and talk peace with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Chief Palestinian negotiator Saab Erekat, once a key deputy of Arafat, warned Israelis not to resume building activities in the West Bank or East Jerusalem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> The most important thing now is to see to it that the Israeli government refrains from settlement activities, incursions, fait accomplis policies, said Erekat, worried that current Israeli building plans could sabotage the latest round of peace talks.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;</span>Abbas, who threatened to quit as Palestinian Authority prime minister last year, knows that Hamas will never accept any peace deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Since Hamas seized Gaza from Abbas by force in 2007, the Palestinian Authority has been unable to persuade Gaza to join forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Hamas senior leadership wants peace with Israel but only after the Jewish State has been demolished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Hamas key leadership, including its blind and wheelchair bound founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, has been assassinated by Israel and has no intent of seeking peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Yassin was killed in an Israeli missile attack in Gaza March 22, 2004.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Only three weeks later his successor Dr. Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi met the same fate April 17, 2004.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With so much water under the bridge, Hamas government in exile, led by Damascus-based Khaled Mashaal, continues armed struggle against and won t compromise at the peace table.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Abbas decision to return to Washington indicates his willingness to put massive pressure on Haniyeh to compromise or face a new battle over Gaza.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton knows the tough road ahead but also knows the alternatives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Years of warfare have left the peace process in shambles and the Palestinians in ruins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Gaza s desperate state, leading up to the botched May 31 Israeli boat inspection, underscores how Hamas has no viable approach to help its dying population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> This is political suicide for Mr. Abbas, it will weaken him, not only in the face of Hamas but also from within Fatah, said Hani Masri, director of the Badeel think tank in the West Bank capital of Ramallah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Masri, like other Palestinian critics, have no answer of how to proceed with Israel other than war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Abbas risks his political career to find peace but the alternatives are far worse.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Abbas decision to return to direct talks with Netanyahu opens up the remote door of a breakthrough peace conference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> There is no use at all to in resuming negotiations, said Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh, convinced that with Hamas out of the loop the prospects for peace remain dim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When negotiations broke down in 2008 midway through Bush s second term, Abbas caved in to Hamas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Abbas is so weak he will go back to the negotiations even though he knows he will gain nothing, said Hassan Kheisheh, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Palestinian skeptics should remind themselves that the last intifada only brought more death and destruction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Before Abbas critics throw in the towel, they should consider recent history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Abbas must be given credit for realizing that armed struggle against Israel only delays Arafat s dream of an independent Palestinian state.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <b>John M. Curtis </b>writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He&#x2019;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style7"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td height="1" class="style7"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Homecobolos> p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>