The White House issued a stern call for the Palestinian Authority to condemn yesterday’s terrorist attack that left left five Israeli settlers dead, including two children and a baby. However, hours beforehand PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad expressed his outrage against the attack, although those words still leave a lot to be desired.
The White House said:
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the murder of five Israelis in a terrorist attack in the northern West Bank, and we offer our condolences to their loved ones and to the Israeli people. There is no possible justification for the killing of parents and children in their home. We call on the Palestinian Authority to unequivocally condemn this terrorist attack and for the perpetrators of this heinous crime to be held accountable.”
Meanwhile, hours earlier Fayyad was quoted as saying:
“An infant, two children and their parents were the victims, and as we have always rejected violence against our people, we reject it against others and we condemn it.”
Fayyad, while helping the PA make strong economic gains through his institution building effort, has very little support among Palestinians. A prominent group of Fatah loyalists even called for his ouster recently in a letter to PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Therefore, those words of condemnation should come not from Fayyad, but from a PA official with some clout among Palestinians. Abbas, for example, should denounce violence and express in the sharpest of language that attacks on Israelis by any violent means are inexcusable and will result in PA security forces conducting manhunts and sweeping through villages until the perpetrators are caught. Abbas should make it very clear that terrorists who attack Israelis will be hunted down.
That type of strong call to arms against terror will not emerge from a real Palestinian leader in the near future, as the fear of terrorist groups launching a coup or gaining even more clout in the government could topple the fragile government in place today. Hamas already won the latest election, with demonstrations sweeping the Arab world and PA elections set for later this year. Abbas cannot risk alienating Palestinians that support armed struggle and attacks such as the one that occurred last night. They are simply too large a voting bloc.
But, Abbas can choose to reject electoral politics and stand up against violent extremists. If he doesn’t, which he won’t in strong terms, then he’s just an empty suit.
