"If there is ever to be a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, there has to be a competent government to run a Palestinian state and leaders with whom to make a deal.
. . . .
There are many threats to a two-state solution, including an Israeli government that could become even more hard-line after the Jan. 22 election. But, as the World Bank has said, Mr. Fayyad has made progress in building a functioning government. Israel, the Palestinians, Arab states and the international community all have a stake in making sure that is preserved and strengthened."
Okay, there's the usual swipe at Israel, but what isn't the Times telling you?
Fayyad does not head the Palestinian Authority. The president of the Palestinian Authority is Abbas, whose term in office ended on January 9, 2009; however, Abbas has refused to hold new elections.
In recent days, Abbas has been holding reconciliation talks with Hamas (see: http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2013/01/11/259829.html), whose charter calls for the murder of all Jews, not just Israelis, and which rejects any negotiated settlement with Israel.
In addition, there was yesterday's armed march of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a military wing of Fatah, in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus. Abbas, of course, is also the leader of the Fatah party. As reported by Haaretz (http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/fatah-militants-march-in-west-bank-palestinian-sources-say.premium-1.493297), this is the first march of this kind since the Palestinian Authority prohibited the carrying of weapons in the West Bank.
The editorial board of the Times also fails to mention that Egypt, owing to a collapse of tourism and a run on foreign currency, is on the verge of collapse. Which flames should "Arab donors," which have reneged on promises of support for the Palestinian Authority, first extinguish?
In short, more muddled thinking from the Times, but then what did you expect?
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