When posting this topic it was my hope to see a little of what you all think about Mahmoud Abbas. It is my hope that his kind of diplomacy can lead to a furthering of a Palestinian state while protecting the Isreali people as well. Certainly The Bush administration would much prefer to deal with Mazen being that his political past and present aren't riddled with terror as was and is Arafat's, not to mention that no one has ever gotten anywhere dealing with Arafat. However, he did have some past ties. But a another plus is that Abbas brings a new force to Palestianian voices, no longer is Arafat the single spokesman with all the power. It even seems as though the Israeli's hope that Mazen will bring new fervor and fairness to the table. I hope the best for this new Prime Minister.

Abbas, sadly, is almost doomed to failure. Arafat will never willingly give up power, and we all know that he will resort to murder if necessary.

If Arafat doesn't think Abbas is "in his pocker" I fear there will be another change in leadership soon. I hope his security chief is good at his job.

That aside, getting rid of Arafat is key to allowing the process to move forward. That guy just cannot seem to work with the Israelis at all.

Arafat was convinced about 5 years ago that his having a positive legacy depended on peace with Israel then. He was on the ropes and Israel probably could have pounded out a final agreement with him. However, Ariel Sharon (not the prime minister at that time) decided to throw a monkey wrench in that. I do not think that Sharon wants a peaceful settlement at all, although I do think he has toned down a bit of late.

After the Sharon-induced incident at the Temple Mount, I do not believe that Arafat even has control of the Palestinian factions anymore, even if he were to come to an agreement with Israel. He didn't try and stop the resulting violence against Israelis for a bit, to try and scare Israel into a settlement. When he did try to get things under control, he found it impossible to do so.

Before any settlement can come about, both Sharon and Arafat both need to be replaced. Abbas looks like about the best hope there is to replace Arafat, so we have to hope he is outside the grasp of Arafat, although things look bad for him so far.

Hodur,
I would have to disagree with you on your position towards Sharon. Though I believe he is definitley a hardliner, I know that a few years ago when the settlements were abandoned Arafat wouldn't even let the people move back to there homes or at least release Palestinians from the refugee camps. Secondly, it was Arafat who walked away from a deal with everything he wanted including East Jerusalem. However, I would conceide your point that Sharon needs to do more, but at what cost to the safety of Israelis?

I also think due to the amount of fight put up by so many Palestinian and other Arab (pro Palestine) leaders, that we are on the right track with Mazen. If we weren't, so many people that want the jews out of the middle east for good, would not have rallied against him. That's why I believe Mazen is not only not in Arafats grasp, but is in danger of Arafat.

Arafat never has hinted he will step down. He reminds me of Chavez. No matter what happens, he is sticking on to power.

I think Abu Mazen has a chance, but a small one. Hamas has too much influence in the Palestine Government & no matter what Mazen does, the gov't will keep Hamas alive

I don't imagine it will bring peace to the region. I don't see Sharon doing anything to promote peace and I don't see that this is anything more than for show. That being said, I'm curious how people think this might affect the reputation and standing of Abu Mazen:

Abu Mazen denies Jewish holocaust

Might this have any bearing on his ability to bring about a peaceful resolution?

Why is the burden always on Sharon and Israel to promote peace when it's their innocent civilians being targeted by the Palestinians.

Peace would be promoted in the region by not blowing up 8 year olds regardless of who is in power.

Hey, there were only two bombings the day that Abu Mazen assumed "power".

Of course Sharon was to blame for that...

Until the Palestineans realize that terrorism will not get them where they want to go, the road will be long to peace.

Most Palestinians have realized that. The leadership has not, and the Fatah movements and other anti-Israel organizations are doing everything they can to undermine peace. To blame the general population of the occupied territories would be unfair.

I wasn't attempting to place the blame solely on the shoulders of Sharon. BOTH sides share the blame. Just as the targeting of innocent civilians by Palestinian terrorists, or those Arabs sympathetic to their cause, isn't going to be the road to peace, neither are the indiscriminate retaliations by Israeli forces.

It's like a bad B-movie. When the terrorists strike innocent people, everybody should typically align against the terrorists. Unfortunately, when the police forces engage in broad attacks which also kill civilians, they split the animosity and feed the terrorist cause.

Somebody has to blink. Not every terrorist organization is going to have ties, recognize or obey the Palestinian leadership. Only through cooperative efforts will Palestinian leadership and Sharon successfully combat terrorist attacks in the region. I fully accept that Palestinian terrorists have more than their fair share of the blame, but I also don't believe Sharon will reign in the [retaliatory] attacks of Israeli forces or work closely with Palestinian leadership -- assuming they too will even be open to cooperative efforts.

In short, to answer the general question: No.

This guy seems like he could be the one to help finally end the years & years of bloodshed between the Palestinians & the Israelis. He strongly wants peace. As long as Arafat stays out of the way, peace will be possible in this region.

This will be a victory for Bush as well, since it is his "road map" that's gotten these 2 to the peace table too.

I pray for peace so that the bloodshed will end.