Thursday, November 26, 2009

Israeli Official: Freeze a Gesture to US, not to Abbas


Al-Manar

(Left: The kiss of death...)

"26/11/2009 Will the settlement construction freeze announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strengthen Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, or is the effort doomed to fail? And who is the move directed at?

According to former National Security Council head Giora Eiland, "It's clear that this was a request by the Palestinians for a gesture to Abu Mazen (Abbas). But if you ask me, the gesture here is towards the Americans – not towards Abu Mazen."

He recalls Israel's past attempts to bolster Palestinian officials, and even then – the results were not pleasant. "Any Israeli attempt to bolster one Arab leader or another in order to make him more successful has always led to the opposite outcome. It's true in regards to Fatah versus Hamas, it's also true that Israel tried to nurture an organization against Fatah called 'the village's association', it's true in regards to the Phalanx in Lebanon.

"There is an iron rule in the Arab world: If there is someone Israel seeks to bolster, it will lead to the opposite outcome and will weaken them. They lose legitimization."......"

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