“I would never deny the Jewish right to the land of Israel,” the great man told representatives of American pro-Israel lobby groups last week before announcing on an Egyptian TV channel that the Second Intifada was the Palestinians' “worst mistake”.

Then, according to Ha'aretz, he asks U.S. President Barack Obama not to push for the lifting of Gaza blockade as this would bolster Hamas. Guess who made those comments!
No, it was not the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or some pro-Israel Islamophobe like Daniel Pipes. Believe it or not, those words and sentiments came out of the mouth of the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.
Imagine if Netanyahu had said Palestinians had a right to the land of Israel or that Operation Cast Lead had been Israel's worst mistake. That would never happen of course. But if, for the sake of argument, it did, he'd be out on his ear and written off.
It seems that Abbas is so eager to cozy up to the White House that he has lost the plot. He certainly doesn't represent the feelings of his constituents. I've never met a Palestinian yet who believes Jewish immigrants were entitled to expel their grandfathers from their homes and villages. I've never come across even one who blesses Israel's destruction of Palestinian houses, orchards and olive groves to make way for Jewish colonies.
And what message is Abbas sending to the imprisoned residents of Gaza whose lives are the nearest thing to hell on earth due to Israel's continuing blockade or to the millions of expelled Palestinians still eking out an existence in wretched refugee camps?
Moreover, up to 5,500 Palestinians lost their lives during the Second Intifada that was triggered by a visit by the ‘Butcher of Beirut' Ariel Sharon to Islam's third holiest site Al Haram Al Qudsi Al Sharif on September 29, 2000 accompanied by hundreds of armed men.
Former U.S. president Bill Clinton warned him not to go as did several prominent Israeli politicians. Sharon was told that the visit would lead to bloodshed but he went ahead anyway so as to scupper “final status settlement” talks between Clinton, the then Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and his long time nemesis the late Yasser Arafat. Sharon's ploy worked.
The peace process was binned when Sharon and his gang of right-wingers defeated Barak in 2001. If Abbas blames violence on the Palestinian part for the rupture of peace talks, he's wrong.
In reality, Arafat would not be pushed into accepting crumbs from Israel's table and, in any case, Sharon had absolutely no intention of working towards a just and contiguous Palestinian state on the West Bank. It's possible that Abbas was merely attempting to use diplomacy to bring the U.S. Congress and American public opinion on his side. If so, he's wasting his time. Support for Israel is so ingrained in the American psyche that even if he morphed into Gandhi and Mother Teresa rolled into one overnight, he would still be perceived as the man representing the bad guys.
Abbas has been sticking to Washington's rule book ever since he took over the leadership following Arafat's suspicious demise. Peace is more elusive now than it ever was. Some 8,000 Palestinians still languish in Israeli prisons, the Palestinian presence in occupied Jerusalem is still being eroded and Israel is expanding colonies.
Cash and weapons
Say what you will about Arafat and his fat overseas bank account — which he maintained was to be used for national emergencies — he always put the welfare of his people first. And, indeed, during his tenure of office, there were times when a Palestinian state was almost tangible. On the other hand, Abbas has followed the U.S. administration's diktats to the extent of falling out with the legitimately-elected Hamas party. The U.S. even supplied Fatah fighters with cash and weapons to oust Hamas leader Esmail Haniyah from Gaza.
The ensuing rift between Palestinian factions has opened the door to Israel to proclaim it has no partner for peace. That is undeniably true. Neither Abbas nor Haniyah has the authority to speak for all Palestinians. The four-year presidential mandate of Abbas expired in January 2009 but elections have been deemed unfeasible due to the internal divide.
If anything, Haniyah has more legitimacy because when free, fair and internationally-monitored elections were held in 2006, Hamas swept to victory. However, in practical terms, the party has been made redundant by the international community that considers it ‘terrorist' and its own charter that is not compatible with a two-state solution.
As long as Netanyahu holds Israel's reins, there will be no peace settlement. That's a given. However, it seems to me that the Palestinians should use this time to put their own house in order. They need a President who is strong yet flexible; someone who is willing to cooperate with the international community. In short, a person who puts his people's interests first. Sorry, Abbas! You have proved time and time again that you just don't fit the bill.
Linda S. Heard is a specialist writer on Middle East affairs.
(Source: Gulf News)