Abbas Is Scrutinized as He Takes a New Role

Re “The New Palestinian Leader’s Tightrope Act,” Commentary, Jan. 6: Yossi Beilin writes, “Never before have the Palestinian people had such a leader: not in the time of the Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini (who made common cause with Adolf Hitler during World War II), not in the days of the first PLO leader, Ahmed Shukeiri, and not during Arafat’s time.”

The hope Beilin pinned on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is most likely misplaced. Abbas obviously appears more congenial to a Western audience, but for decades he shared Yasser Arafat’s idea of Israeli destruction.

He got his doctorate in political science from a Soviet university, where he wrote a thesis denying the Holocaust ever happened. He has already put himself on record as saying he will not compromise with the “Zionist enemy.”

Since this is Arafat’s plan to destroy Israel, it appears no real peace is possible with this man.

Amit Peles

Corona

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In the Jan. 8 article “U.S. Wary Until New Palestinian Leader Curbs Militias’ Influence,” a U.S. State Department official says, “Are there going to be terrorist elements as part of the [Palestinian] government and the Cabinet?” Why the concern over potential Palestinian terrorists in the government and never concern over the terrorists who permeate the Israeli government?

There is documentation by Israeli human rights groups that hundreds of innocent Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army and Jewish settlers.

Terrorism on both sides will continue until Israel ends its occupation of Palestinian lands.

Judy Neunuebel

Santa Barbara