* Cal Thomas is skeptical anything positive will come from the upcoming Palestinian elections.
* In the Washington Post, Dennis Ross says that there’s a growing readiness among Palestinians to take responsibility for their affairs now that Arafat’s out of the picture. After attending a conference in Gaza, Ross writes:
As someone who probably dealt with Yasser Arafat more than any non-Palestinian, I can safely say that Palestinian responsibility was never on his agenda. Arafat made being a victim a strategy, not just a condition, and thus Palestinians were entitled, never responsible. Yet, here in Gaza, no one challenged those Palestinians who raised questions about their responsibilities. And while most of the comments directed to me were about America’s responsibility to right the wrongs done to the Palestinians, some in the audience picked up my challenge to recognize that the United States could help the Palestinians only if they were prepared to fulfill their obligations, particularly on security. Indeed, when I declared that there would be no Palestinian state born of violence — with the leading proponents of that violence sitting there — several Palestinians responded by saying that violence was a mistake and nothing would be achieved by it.
* Israellycool sums up the cycle of violence: Abbas -> Kassam rockets -> roadmap.
* More on Abbas’ rallies with the terrorists: Daily Telegraph, Baltimore Sun, and check out this lead in The Scotsman:
Interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas today shook hands with an armed militant leader wanted by Israel, and prayed with the fugitive at a West Bank cemetery for those killed in fighting with Israel.
* Joel Mowbray in the Washington Times writes about the latest with the lawsuit against the Arab Bank, filed by victims of Palestinian terror. According to Mowbray, the chairman of the bank, Abd al-Majid Shuman, is “a well-known advocate of the intifada.”
Mr. Shuman is cited in al-Dustour in October 2000 as having orchestrated Arab Bank employees to donate 5 percent of their salaries “in solidarity and in support of the Al Aqsa Intifada.”
The same article also asserts that Arab Bank hosted a meeting of the Popular Committee for Support of the Intifada, where the group discussed its plans to “continue giving direct financial aid to the families of shaheeds (martyrs) and the wounded of the Al-Aqsa intifada as follows: 1000 dinars [roughly $1,400] to the family of each shaheed and 300 dinars [just over $400] to the families of the wounded.” Lawyers representing Arab Bank, not surprisingly, released a boilerplate denial, stating: “The accusations being brought against the Bank, as we understand them, are entirely false.”
* Iran recently launched a Hebrew-language radio broadcast which can be picked up on the internet. Here is Jerusalem Post coverage. Here is where you can hear broadcasts of the news show, “Kol David.”
* Itamar Marcus of Palestinian Media Watch says that after a slight hiatus, “Hatred on every level is out there in full force.”
* Chicago Tribune picked up on the controversy at Columbia U. between Jewish students and anti-Israel professors.
