IDF W. Bank chief: Hamas could take over in days
"Without the massive IDF presence in the West Bank, Hamas would take over
the institutions and apparatuses of the Palestinian Authority within days,"
OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Gadi Shamni told President Shimon Peres Tuesday
as the two toured the Command's main base in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, from Haaretz:
PA suspends peace talks with Israel over Gaza violence
The Palestinian Authority leadership in the West Bank on Saturday announced
it was halting peace talks with Israel over Israel Defense Forces raids in
the Gaza Strip, in which two IDF soldiers and at least 50 Palestinians were
killed over the course of the day.
Traditionally, both the Palestinian Arabs and their corrupt and inept leadership act against their own best interests. The so-called "peace talks" are basically just sops to the Arabs, giving Abbas an opportunity to pocket even more concessions from Israel without giving anything up himself.
Suspending them is also a violation of the commitment he made to negotiate without interruption. One wonders whether his real purpose in suspending them is to preserve his record of never adhering to a single commitment.
Livni said:
"Even if the Palestinians suspend talks, it won't influence in any way the decisions or operations Israel carries out to defend its citizens. From the beginning this was the basis of talks with the moderate elements in the Palestinian Authority."
Everything, of course, is relative. In the context of Palestinian Arab politics, "moderate" applies to those who believe moderate violence can sometimes be more effective than extreme violence in furthering the ultimate goal of destroying Israel.
If Mahmoud Abbas/Abu Mazen has any sense, he has to be hoping that Israel completely ignores what he's saying and doing and destroys his real enemy, Hamas. He obviously doesn't learn much from history. Had Israel ignored him earlier and acted decisively against Hamas, Abbas/Mazen would never have been kicked out of Gaza.
It would be poetic justice if Israel have Abbas what he claims to want and temporarily stopped acting against Arab terrorists operating from Judea and Samaria; he might then wind up pleading with Israel to grant him asylum before Hamas strings him up from the nearest olive tree.
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