Thursday February 15, 2007

I've Been Thinking:

Azzam al Aham is a name to remember, he is a man to be reckoned with.
Azzam al Aham is an advisor and aide to Abbas, he is frequently the Palestinian point man between Abbas and the US and even Abbas and Israel.

At a press conference in Ramallah yesterday this influential man made very clear how great the division is between the West and the new Palestinian Authority.
He said, "The {Mecca} agreement meets the conditions of the Quartet 100%." He said the Palestinians will contact the Americans and explain each point.

The agreement is only 9 sentences. It is too short to be misunderstood. On all three of the Quartet's requirements it falls short.
The agreement does not recognize Israel.
The agreement does not say that the new government will condemn and fight terror.
The one ray of hope is that it does say that the new government will honor previous international agreements, but the essence of this requirement was to honor the previous agreements signed with Israel.
The agreement does not even mention Israel.