Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, weakened
by his power struggle with Yasser Arafat, told
lawmakers Thursday he would not launch a crackdown
on militants and hinted at resignation if he did
not win parliamentary support.

Mahmoud Abbas surprises nobody in his speech to Arafat's puppet legislature.

In an angry demonstration outside the parliament
building, about 200 activists in Arafat's Fatah
movement promised to defend the veteran
Palestinian leader, and seven masked men from
the crowd broke down a door to the building and
smashed windows. Unarmed guards eventually
forced the men out.

Just before the session, Palestinian gunmen
killed an Israeli in a shooting ambush near the
West Bank town of Jenin. The Al Aqsa Martyrs'
Brigade, an armed group linked to Arafat's
ruling Fatah movement, claimed responsibility.

While outside, the palsied old killers goons stir up as much trouble as possible. Its now clear that Israel's decision (coerced by the United States) not to kill or expel Arafat was a massive blunder, on a par with the decision not to kill him in Beirut in 1982 (also coerced by the US). He is now not only an obstacle to the peace process, but is doing everything within his power to collapse it. The Bush administration should give Israel the green light to finally rid the world of this odious insect and then crack down on his fanatical thugs (who are, apparently, too cowardly to show their real faces in public). There is no process that can work with Arafat still in power and his Euro/UN supporters are aiding and abetting in the destruction of the Road Map to serve their own selfish prejudices and vanity. The only thing that will change things now is unilateral action by Israel.