The Palestine Papers: So What?

January 24, 2011 10:30 by Pesach Benson

So the Palestinian Authority and its Fatah cadres are having a hissy fit over a slew of documents leaked to Al-Jazeera and then shared with The Guardian.

Big yawn.

The whole leak is just a localized version of Wikileaks, ultimately more embarrassing for the Palestinians than for Israel, though there’s plenty of room to ruminate “What if . . .” In due time, the PA will surely retaliate against Al-Jazeera, and perhaps (but less likely) against The Guardian too.

It’s worth keeping an eye on — watching the Palestinian powers-that-be scurry to cover themselves will be more interesting than two weeks of Super Bowl hype. But beyond all that?

Big deal.

UPDATE 11:51 a.m.: The Jerusalem Post reports that the PA’s already considering action against Al Jazeera. Khaled Abu Toameh writes:

Asked if the PA was now considering measures against Al-Jazeera, the official said he did not see how a TV station that “incites” against the Palestinians would be able to continue operating in the West Bank.

Last but not least, you gotta love anything that has George Galloway this upset.

Category: Backspin Tags:Al-Jazeera, Fatah, George Galloway, israel, Khaled Abu Toameh, Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority, peace talks, The Guardian
2 Comments