Wednesday June 8, 2005

I've Been Thinking:

What is the biggest problem in inner-Palestinian politics?
Compliance.
Why is it a problem?
Because Palestinian leadership has little power to wield or incentives to offer in order to enforce compliance in their campaign against the use of illegal weapons.

That's why Mahmoud Abbas has just called Khaled Meshal, the political head of Hamas headquartered in Syria. The call came in advance of Abbas' scheduled trip to Gaza.

Abbas plans to demand that Meshal clamp down on Hamas in Gaza, to have them stop firing the Kassam rockets that are hitting Sderot and Gaza settlements.

How should Abbas insure that his demand is enforced?
Through his police force.
The police must disarm the Hamas operatives and then use monetary incentives to keep them from picking up arms again.

It's not the best solution to the problem, but for now, it's the only solution.