New York Times Editorial "A Fatah-Hamas Deal": Unbounded Naïveté (I)

Yesterday, in an editorial entitled "A Fatah-Hamas Deal" (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/opinion/09mon1.html), The New York Times told us:

"Ultimately, a successful Palestinian state will need to have all its people, from both the West Bank and Gaza, working together to build a stable and prosperous future. The recent agreement between the two main factions — Fatah, which leads the Palestinian Authority and has committed to peace with Israel, and Hamas, which has committed to Israel’s destruction — is not the answer."

However, The New York Times declares that the U.S. must not cut off funds to the Palestinian Authority, which would eliminate Washington’s leverage over a new government and "shift the political balance dangerously toward Hamas."

The New York Times continues:

"Other reconciliation attempts between Fatah and Hamas have imploded, but Mr. Abbas seems to believe this will advance his push to get the United Nations General Assembly to recognize a Palestinian state. Above all, his sudden willingness to deal with his enemies in Hamas is a sign of his desperation with the stalled peace process."

Abbas has turned to Hamas out of "desperation with the stalled peace process"? What is the basis for this balderdash?

All that matters to Abbas, whose term as president of the Palestinian Authority should have ended in 2009, is to retain power. As Abbas indicated in May 2009 to Jackson Diehl of The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052803614.html), he couldn't care less about "the stalled peace process":

"'I will wait for Hamas to accept international commitments. I will wait for Israel to freeze settlements,' he said. 'Until then, in the West Bank we have a good reality . . . the people are living a normal life.'"

So why is Abbas now ostensibly pressing for Palestinian statehood? Answer: Following the wave of unrest in the Arab world, he is deathly afraid that West Bank Palestinians will rise up against his one-man, one-party rule, which is rife with corruption. Notwithstanding his hatred for Hamas, he is currently pursuing a ruse intended to persuade Palestinians that his concern extends beyond his own welfare.

Unity between Fatah and Hamas? Not a chance; however, the editorial board of The New York Times has swallowed the Abbas stratagem hook, line and sinker.