Source: Associated Press
Feb 11, 2007
The Palestinians now have a government including all major factions that openly rejects Israel's right to exist, and they want the international community to accept that and throw money at them.
On Saturday, Fatah leader and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas sent out envoys to sell the international community on a power-sharing deal reached with the ruling Hamas terror group last week.
In defiance of international demands, the unity agreement does not include explicit recognition of Israel's right to exist or a renunciation of terrorist violence against the Jewish state.
Nevertheless, Abbas was confident that a world bent on forcing Israel to sign away its biblical heartland in the name of "peace" would be forgiving toward the Palestinians.
And he appeared to be right, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the Hamas-Fatah deal a "positive step," and Moscow pushed for a compete renewal of the Middle East peace process.