Abbas Paving the Way to Turn West Bank into an Islamist State
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Abbas has chosen to align himself with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, thus facilitating these two organizations' dreams of taking over the West Bank. These two radical groups seek to destroy Israel and are opposed to any peace process in the Middle East.Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and the PLO leadership in the West Bank are once again threatening to halt security coordination with Israel -- this time in protest over the victory of Binyamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party in Israel's March 17 general elections.
These threats are primarily aimed at getting the international community into providing the Palestinian Authority with more financial and political support.
This alliance could also result in renewed terrorist attacks against Israel, because Hamas and Islamic Jihad will interpret Abbas's anti-Israel moves and rhetoric as a green light for such actions.
Abbas's rapprochement with Hamas and Islamic Jihad will only confirm the fears of many Israelis that the West Bank will fall onto the hands of Islamists once Israel withdraws from that area.
The two-state solution started the day Hamas kicked Abbas out of the Gaza Strip and turned it into an Islamist emirate. In the end, the Palestinians got two states that are even at war with each other.
The latest threat was made during a meeting of PLO leaders, headed by Abbas in Ramallah, to discuss the outcome of the Israeli elections.
At the meeting, the PLO leaders decided to ask the commanders of the PA security forces in the West Bank to come up with a "detailed plan" to stop security coordination with Israel.
Halting security coordination with Israel means that Abbas and the PLO would be paving the way for Hamas to extend its control from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank. With that, the Palestinians would have another Islamist state that seeks to eliminate Israel.
Abbas and the PLO leadership are, in effect, saying: "We don't like the results of the elections and that is why we are going to facilitate a Hamas takeover of the West Bank."
It is only the Palestinian Authority's security coordination with Israel that has thus far foiled Hamas's plans to stage a coup against Abbas's regime in the West Bank.
Were it not for this coordination, Abbas would have been removed from power several years ago -- as was the case in 2007, when Hamas drove him and his PA out of the Gaza Strip. Even senior Palestinian officials acknowledge that Abbas would not survive in power without security coordination with Israel.
But now, Abbas and the PLO have decided to respond to the victory of Netanyahu by not only cutting off security coordination, but also intensifying their efforts to isolate and delegitimize Israel in the international community.
Abbas and the PLO have also decided to engage in a "comprehensive dialogue" with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, in response to the victory of Netanyahu. These two radical groups seek to destroy Israel and are opposed to any peace process in the Middle East.
In other words, Abbas has decided to join forces with the enemies of peace, simply because he does not like the results of the Israeli elections.
Abbas's decision to reach out to Hamas and Islamic Jihad means that he sees these two organizations as legitimate players in the Palestinian arena and partners in a future Palestinian state. This is the same Abbas who has been warning over the past few years of Hamas's repeated attempts to stage a coup against him in the West Bank.
Best Frenemies? Mahmoud Abbas (r) meets with the Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal in Qatar, July 20, 2014. (Image source: Handout from the Palestinian Authority President's Office/Thaer Ghanem)
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The Palestinian Authority initially responded to the results of the elections by threatening to pursue its efforts with the International Criminal Court to file "war crimes" charges against Israel. Now the PA and PLO leaders have gone a step further, by threatening to cut off security and economic ties with Israel.
These threats are primarily aimed at scaring the international community into providing the PA with more financial and political support. Moreover, these threats are designed to rally the world against Israel, so that it would be forced to submit to Abbas's demands and withdraw to the pre-1967 lines.
Abbas has chosen to align himself with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, thus facilitating these two organizations' dream of taking over the West Bank. This alliance could also result in renewed terrorist attacks against Israel, because Hamas and Islamic Jihad will interpret Abbas's anti-Israel moves and rhetoric as a green light for such actions.
Abbas's rapprochement with Hamas and Islamic Jihad will only confirm the fears of many Israelis that the West Bank will fall into the hands of Islamists once Israel withdraws from that area.
However, Abbas's decision to wage a diplomatic and political campaign against Israel in the international arena is not going to bring Palestinians closer to achieving their aspirations.
Abbas and the international community -- especially the U.S. Administration -- are ignoring the fact that the Palestinians already have two separate mini-states, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The two-state solution was born the day Hamas kicked Abbas out of the Gaza Strip and turned it into an Islamist emirate. In the end, the Palestinians got two states that are even at war with each other.
Now, by joining forces with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Abbas is paving the way for turning the West Bank into another Islamist state.
- Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on Twitter
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