Israel Matzav

US financing Hamas opponents but Abu Mazen has no backing in Fatah Central Committee

In an insightful analysis in the Jerusalem Post, Khaled Abu Toameh outlines 'moderate Palestinian President' Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen's predicament.

Earlier this week, Abbas arrived in Amman to seek the backing of the Fatah central committee, one of several Palestinian key decision-making bodies, for his plan to fire the Hamas government. Shortly before the meeting, Abbas learned that many committee members were opposed to his plan and decided to return to Ramallah immediately.

Sources close to Abbas are convinced that Farouk Kaddoumi, a hard-line leader of Fatah who is based in Tunis and who maintains a close relationship with Hamas and Syria, had incited the rest of the central committee members against the plan to get rid of the Hamas government. They claimed that Kaddoumi, who visited Damascus over the weekend, had forged an "unholy alliance" with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal to thwart Abbas's plan. [Kaddoumi was opposed to Oslo and therefore did not accompany Arafat to Gaza in 1994. CiJ]

The latest crisis in Fatah, as well as reports that the US has allocated $42 million to back opponents of the Hamas government, are seen by many Palestinians as a sign of Abbas's growing predicament. [This is apparently NOT the money being provided for 'Force 17.' This sounds like money going down a black hole. CiJ]

On the one hand, Abbas cannot make a far-reaching decision such as firing the Hamas government without the backing of his own Fatah party. On the other hand, the reports about US intervention in the internal affairs of the Palestinians make it almost impossible for Abbas to make any serious decisions.

The last thing Abbas needs these days is to be seen as conspiring with the US against a democratically elected government. That's why Abbas reacted with fury to the leaking of an official US document outlining the plan to overthrow the Hamas government.

...

"Abbas's problem is that no one takes him seriously, not even his closest aides," said a Palestinian academic from Ramallah. "Some of his aides describe him as a weak figure who doesn't know exactly what he wants."

And this is the man on whom the world is relying to make 'peace'? Give me a break....

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:08 PM