Many, or most, of the young guard prefer a deal with Hamas to one with Israel, and a return to systematic armed struggle. At best, they believe a peace treaty can come only after Israel is expelled from the West Bank, a task that would take decades and, if ever fulfilled, would whet their ambitions for total victory.
Abbas is trapped. He can neither defeat nor make peace with Israel; and neither defeat nor make a deal with Hamas in which the latter would accept Fatah's leadership. Nor can he control his own organization, end the chaos in the West Bank, or implement an economic development program.
That is his "shadow," as T.S. Eliot put it. His only asset - though a considerable one - is that the West, including Israel, will ignore all these problems and pretend otherwise.
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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