Uri Avnery analyzes Sharon’s latest moves:
“The long campaign for the elimination of Mahmoud Abbas is entering its final phase…Much to the regret of Sharon & Co., Abbas cannot be ‘eliminated’ the usual way, as were Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and many other Palestinian leaders. In the case of Abbas, it is not even allowed to use the word ‘elimination’ - an official term of the Israeli army, taken straight from the Mafia lexicon.”
“The ascent of Abbas after the elimination of Yassir Arafat…turned on a red light in Sharon’s office. After all, his plans are all based on the slogan ‘There is Nobody to Talk With’. Abbas, on the other hand, looks to the world, and even to a significant part of the Israeli public - like a Palestinian leader eminently fit to talk with. Worse, he looks that way to President Bush too…Therefore, Sharon adopted a cautious tactic: gain time, wait for a change of circumstances, and in the meantime be content with sticking needles into Abbas’ effigy”
