The plot thickens

PM Netanyahu cannot extend the 10 month freeze on settlement building on the West Bank. The opposition in Israel is strong, not only from the right wing. The feeling is that Israel negotiated with the US, acting on behalf of the Palestinians, to get a concession out of Israel. The US and Israel agreed to a compromise period for the freeze of 10 months. What is the point of the PA waiting until the last month of the freeze and then trying to force Israel to make a further concession? We would like to see at least one concession from the Palestinians for a change. If the US failed to move the PA to direct talks in all that time it's not Israel's fault. In any case, by extending the freeze it might appear that Israel is already giving up Judea and Samaria to the PA, while Israel still has a strong legitimate claim to what many refer to as "Palestinian Land." It is not their land until we say it is in a negotiation, until then it's just as much Israel's land. It is important in dealing with the Arabs that one stands firm and not give way to their first demands.

Now Pres Abbas of the PA has added another twist to the plot. He has once again threatened to resign if the current talks fail. SInce most commentators think that there is only a slim chance of success, that leaves the PA in a very difficult position. Not only have they failed to do anything about finding a successor to Abbas, but if he left the PA leaderless there would be a power vacuum that various condidates from Fatah and the PLO, as well as Hamas, would try to fill. So we could be in for an extended period of chaos, just as conditions seemed to be beginning to improve on the West Bank.

However, along with this improvement in economic and organizational aspects, comes a parallel increase in tendency towards extremism. Those who for years have said that poverty leads to desperation that leads to terrorism have been proven wrong. Most of the terrorists leaders and even a majority of the suicide bombers are/were educated and middle class. The current surge in economic improvement is accompanied by an increase in Palestinian extremism. Note that the recent terrorist incidents carried out by Hamas against the peace talks, including the killing of four Israelis, have received positive support within the West Bank that is dominated by Fatah. And when a Hamas terrorist leader in Kalkilya was killed by the IDF a few days ago, hundreds managed to attend his funeral without intervention by the PA security forces. Also, a PA cabinet member attended a ceremony in which a school was named after a shahid, a martyr.

It is possible that if things don't work out in the peace talks and Abbas resigns then the PA might go into a period of chaos and then collapse. This could be good for Israel in one respect, that out enemy's disarray is our advantage. But, out of the chaos could come Hamas, and Israel must intervene and make sure that this does not happen., Otherwise we will have rockets raining down on us not only from Gaza, but from Kalkilya and Nablus and the Jerusalem suburbs.