August 28, 2023

The saying, “After me, the flood,” should have been attributed to Methuselah. In French, it is attributed to Louis XV of France, who preceded the Revolution. It is certainly applicable to Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority.

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Mahmoud Abbas is Yasser Arafat’s successor as head of Fatah, which runs the present Palestinian Authority. It is probably more accurate to say Abbas is the imposed-on-Arafat’s successor.

At the 2000 Camp David Summit — where it was hoped that a final peace deal would be nailed down — Arafat walked out without making a serious counter-proposal. The chief issue seems to have been that Arafat refused to give up the “right of return” for Palestinian exiles. Israel would never accept such a right as it would push the Jews into a minority demographic. And frankly, Arafat probably surmised that any acceptance of a lesser Israeli proposal would make him a marked man.

The Palestinians, [] insisting on the identification of return to Israel as one of the options open to refugees… Ben-Ami is not sure of what numbers the Palestinians proposed, but mentions 150,000 per year for ten years. If this number is accurate, coming to a total of 1.5 million returnees, it is totally untenable. Ben-Ami indicates that Yossi Beilin responded with a total of 40,000. Clearly, they were far apart, but the principle that there is no unlimited right of return appears to have been conceded. This discussion of the size of the cap came very late in the day. We do not know if it could have been bridged. It is quite possible that even if the negotiations had gone on for several more months, this gap would not have been closed. — The Palestinian Peace Offer, Ha’aretz, October 1, 2000, Jerome Segal

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Two months after the failure of those peace talks, Arafat authorized the start of the quite bloody Second Intifada (2000-2005), where over 1,000 Israelis died — two thirds of them civilians. Naturally, the United States and Israel wanted to get rid of Arafat, and Israel eventually put his presidential compound under siege. Prior to this, in the past, Israel had considered assassinating Arafat — and some discreditable rumors claim Israel finally poisoned Arafat during the Second Intifada, using polonium.

Something had to be done to rein in Arafat.

The United States’ “democratic reform” has consisted in imposing on the Palestinians and their elected president a “prime minister” who the overwhelming majority of Palestinians rejected as a new Quisling. The prime minister was — surprise! — Mahmoud Abbas, alias abu Mazen… — Achcar, Gilbert (2004). Eastern Cauldron: Islam, Afghanistan and Palestine in the Mirror of Marxism, page 44

Mahmoud Abbas was considered a moderate to the West. It was believed that he was someone the Americans and Israelis could work with.

As bureaucrats go, Abbas is rather authoritarian (he has to be), and he has some singularly unbelievable credits to his name.  He has the equivalent of a doctorate for a book he wrote: The Connection between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement, where he accuses the Zionist Movement of being co-responsible for the Holocaust.  Not exactly a sterling intellectual achievement.

Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are noted for being incredibly corrupt. Fatah survives by making deals with local clans and their sheikhs. If you are in the privileged clan, you will prosper. Outside the clan, you are on your own.