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In this mailing:
by Khaled Abu Toameh
• September 8, 2015 at 5:00 am
- It is hard to
understand why some Westerners believe that Abbas's departure could
boost the prospects of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. To
many Palestinians, it is clear that the PLO or Fatah official who
replaces Abbas will not be able to make any concessions to Israel. Any
Palestinian leader who dares to make the slightest concession to Israel
will be denounced as a traitor and will be lucky if he stays in power or
stays alive.
- The West needs to
understand that no Palestinian leader is authorized to make
concessions to Israel for the sake of peace. Neither the PLO nor the
Fatah leaderships would ever approve of such concessions. And, of
course, Hamas also will never accept any peace agreement between Israel
and the Palestinians, except one that leads to the destruction of Israel
and the establishment of an Islamic empire in the region.
- Saeb Erekat has
been negotiating with Israel for the past two decades and his position
has never changed. Like Arafat and Abbas, he too will never sign a peace
agreement with Israel that does not include 100% of the territories
captured by Israel in 1967. Erekat is not authorized to make any
concessions on Jerusalem or the "right of return" for
Palestinians to their former homes inside Israel.
- Abbas's successor
will undoubtedly declare that he intends to follow in the footsteps of
Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas may go, but his legacy, like that
of Arafat, will not.
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Yasser Arafat (L) and Mahmoud Abbas, pictured in a Fatah
propaganda poster. The Arabic text reads "Bearer of the trust" on
top, and on the bottom: "I call on you to hold onto national unity. It
is more precious than all of us."
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The recent talk about Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas's
intention to quit political life has left many wondering whether his
departure would bring about real changes for the Palestinians and the
"peace process" with Israel.
During the past few weeks, the 80-year-old Abbas has been telling his
aides and friends that he is tired and wants to spend more time with his
family.
It is not clear at this stage whether Abbas is serious about his
intention to step down. His critics argue that he is just bluffing, while
some of his Fatah and PLO colleagues maintain that this time his threat to
resign is real.
The real question, however, is not whether Abbas is serious or not about
retiring. Rather, it is what impact, if at all, his departure from the scene
would have on Palestinians and future relations with Israel.
by Burak Bekdil
• September 8, 2015 at 4:00 am
- Turkey cannot
fight the Islamic State (IS) and the Kurds, who are the essential ground
force of any coalition campaign against IS, at the same time forever.
- "...America's
deal with Turkey will prove to be a Faustian bargain. Short-term
operational convenience is not worth the long-term danger of
destabilizing Turkey and demoralizing the Kurdish forces that have
carried the bulk of the burden in fighting militants." -- Eric
Edelman, former U.S. ambassador to Ankara and former Undersecretary of
Defense for Policy.
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The scene of the suicide bombing in Suruc, Turkey. An
ISIS suicide bomber murdered 32 people and wounded more than 100 others in
a July 20 attack on Kurdish humanitarian activists. (Image source: VOA
video screenshot)
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Many people believed that the Turks and their Kurdish compatriots were
close to a historic handshake when, in 2013, the imprisoned leader of the
Kurdish separatist movement, Abdullah Ocalan, declared a farewell to arms
after a three-decade-long violent campaign that had left nearly 40,000 dead
-- Turks and Kurds. The Turkish government would grant broader political
rights to its restive Kurds, who demand regional autonomy. In return, the
Kurds would conduct politics peacefully instead of seeking their rights with
rifles in their hands.
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