Melissa Overbeck
Perspectives Editor
The day Mahmoud Abbas won the Palestinian presidential election, he received congratulatory phone calls from both Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Bush. Both leaders separately invited him to meet with them.
Abbas won the election to replace the late Yasser Arafat with 62 percent of the vote — a significant margin over his opponent Mustafa Barghouti’s 19 percent.
This victory signifies the Palestinians’ readiness for change. Barghouti campaigned as a radical and opposed reconciliation with Israel. Abbas’ election proves that Palestinians overwhelmingly support a peaceful solution. The change in leadership raised hopes of new peace talks to end the violence that has ravaged the area.
That was a Monday. By the next Friday, Sharon had dramatically reversed his tune. Before Abbas was even sworn into office, the Israeli prime minister severed contact with all Palestinian leadership in response to an attack by militants that killed six Israeli citizens Thursday. This decision, and his subsequent decision to instruct Israeli forces to respond “without restrictions,” can be seen as nothing other than an intentional step to foil the peace process.
The Israeli leader justified his actions by accusing Abbas of failing to take the necessary steps to prevent the attacks on Israel. In this accusation, he is sorely mistaken.
As members of Sharon’s own government have said, Abbas simply needs the opportunity to take control. The attacks occurred before Abbas’ inauguration, and as a leader himself, Sharon should recognize that achieving authority takes time.
In addition, Abbas’ resume demonstrates his commitment to diplomacy and criticism of militant attacks. Abbas has repeatedly spoken out against attacks on Israel, arguing that they undermine efforts for Palestinian statehood.
To his credit, during a short stint as prime minister in 2003, Abbas effectively persuaded factions to agree to a unilateral ceasefire.
Although the agreement was short-lived, it marked a step in the right direction and reflected Abbas’ commitment to halting the attacks.
In his campaign, this commitment gave the world a renewed hope for Middle East peace — a hope that Sharon is now dashing.
Abbas is working on his end of the peace process. Under his leadership, the Palestine Liberation Organization called on Palestinians to stop “violence against Israelis anywhere,” according to CNN. Abbas plans to meet with Palestinian factions this week to discuss how to end the attacks.
Despite these efforts, Sharon was quoted Jan. 16 in The New York Times saying “we have yet to see (Palestinian leadership) taking any action whatsoever to halt terrorism.”
Clearly, it is Sharon who is failing to take steps to end the conflict. In the important first few weeks of Abbas’ term, if his attempts at peace are simply met with dissatisfaction and increased military action from Israel, he will not be able to gain the power and support necessary to successfully control Palestinian terrorist groups later down the line.
Earlier this year, Bush said he would use his political capital to help end the conflict in this region. If he is truly committed to this cause, the United States must step in and encourage Israel to come back to the table and work with Abbas before it is too late.
The Palestinian people and their new leader want to work with the Israelis to achieve peace. If Sharon violently responds to every act of terrorism, while at the same time refusing to negotiate with Abbas, he will only radicalize the Palestinians that voted for peace when they selected their new president.
1-20-2005