The Hebrew-language headline "The Abbas Obstacle" blared on the front page of Israel Hayom, the pro-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu newspaper. The article itself reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was "trying to torpedo" the emerging Israel-Hamas truce agreement on the Gaza Strip. Indeed, Abbas is refusing to go along with what Israel euphemistically dubs the "arrangement" with Hamas. However, contrary to the impression government mouthpieces are trying to make, the Palestinian president is not a pyromaniac. On the contrary.
In his Aug. 18 speech, Abbas declared for the umpteenth time that he would reject any plan not based on the principle of “one state, one government, one law and one weapon” — in other words, his adamant insistence on one unified government for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In a tragic paradox, while Abbas is demanding one sole, united security force and adhering strictly to the security coordination arrangements with Israel in the West Bank, Israel is willing to accept continued terrorism on the part of the Hamas rulers of Gaza. Instead of cheering Abbas for his determined stand vis-a-vis Hamas, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman accused the Palestinian leader of “trying to drag us into a clash with Hamas” so that he can take control of Gaza. Would Liberman rather Hamas exploit its entrenchment in Gaza under Israeli auspices, and of Abbas’ weakness, to take control of the West Bank?
