"SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas declared Tuesday that their people would stop all military and violent attacks against each other, pledging to break a four-year cycle of bloodshed and get peace talks back on track.
With their national flags whipping in the wind, Sharon and Abbas met face-to-face at a Mideast summit, smiling broadly as they leaned across a long white table to shake hands. In one sign the talks went well, Egypt and Jordan announced afterward that they would return their ambassadors to Israel after a four-year absence - possibly within days."
I have been skeptical many times before about the Middle East situation (though I am not as knowledgeable or pessimistic as Charles Johnson is on the subject). I don't trust Abbas, or any of the Palestinians. I do not believe any of them want peace in any traditional sense of the word. It is very disconcerting when, along with the peace talks, you hear about this:
GAZA CITY (AFP) - Palestinian Islamist militant movement Hamas said that it was not bound by the ceasefire announced by Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas at a Middle East peace summit in Egypt.
Hamas won many positions in local elections recently, so they are becoming an influencial political force. It seems that many like them, and whether we call it bribery or extortion, that fact remains that they have clout.
We will obviously have to wait and see what happens. Abbas is not Arafat, but he is a Palestinian. The culture of violence and hate created by Arafat still exists, and may be the strongest deterent to peace.
Update: Powerline has a good post with some good links on this topic.
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