Quote:
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Sharon should have condemned the violent incident, but vowed to keep up the search for peace and start the dialog with Mahmoud Abbas.
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current events seem to paint a different picture.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/...ing/index.html Quote:
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the suspension of all contacts with the Palestinian Authority on Friday, following an attack by Palestinian gunmen that killed six Israelis civilians, Israeli officials said.
"The prime minister has ordered suspension of all contacts with Palestinian Authority representatives and the closure of all Gaza terminals until real steps are taken against terrorist acts," said the official.
The Israeli military said early Friday it would keep closed the crossing at Karni where Thursday's attack occurred, would close the Erez crossing, the main terminal between Israel and Gaza, and would continue the closure of the closing at Rafah between Gaza and Egypt.
"These terminals serve the Palestinian people. You can't expect us to keep them open if our people are being killed," the official said.
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also, as the article states, abbas hasn't even been inaugurated yet. we all know well that even if arafat had tried to confront the terrorist groups that that would've been an
incredibly difficult task, if not impossible.
obviously the palestinian terrorists aren't helping anyone.. they commit these acts simply to satisfy their hate and affiction with death. sharon should look to strengthen israel's relationship with the PLO and at a minimum, give peace a chance. as it is, the palestinians have finally been freed from arafat's grip - there is clearly the potential for a new relationship. i once thought that the only way to beat them was with force, but that has proven to be a failed policy both in israel/palestine as well as iraq.
honestly, how exactly can abbas stop hamas and company? the IDF has effectively destroyed much of the PLO's capacity and infrastructure. they've weakened them much more than the terrorist groups, who i should mention derive their power via popular support. abbas's best option is to form a relationship of mutual trust with israel in hopes of convincing palestinians in general that there is an option besides terrorism.