Dear readers
Here is the digest for January 20th, 2005

1-Abbas' Multiple Tests
2- World Bank to Purchase Settlers' Hothouses for PA

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1- Abbas' Multiple Tests
Analysis-Ghassan Andoni-IMEMC, January 18, 2005, 09:53

Prior to being sworn into office, newly-elected Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas was squeezed from all directions. The savior, long-
awaited by everyone, is apparently not even going to be given a chance
to breathe.

Since the day the death of the late Palestinian president was
announced, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon began preparing the
list of ways to test the new expected leader Mahmoud Abbas.

What mostly bothered Sharon during Arafat's life time was the ability
of the Palestinian leader to endure tremendous pressure without
yielding to Israeli pressure in both the political and security
arenas.

Worried about the consequences of international support for the new
Palestinian leader, Sharon worked hard to lower expectations, which
rose following the death of Arafat.

Under international pressure to allow the new leadership time, and not
to push beyond their realistic capabilities, Sharon presented the new
Palestinian leadership with two "specific" demands; to stop all kinds
of "incitement" and to bring a halt to the shelling of Israeli
targets, shellings which originated from the Gaza Strip.

Working under the assumption that, unlike Arafat, the new Palestinian
leader Mahmoud Abbas would be more likely to lean to pressure, Sharon
refrained from making any positive gestures to help Abbas gain ground,
but rather preserved his "no partner theory" (ie. "There is no
Palestinian partner for peace") until proven differently.

It took Sharon a week and a lot of international pressure to pick up
the phone to congratulate Abbas on his election victory.

Even though Sharon knows, probably more than any other leader, how
difficult it is to rebuild, reform and assume control over the
devastated, fragmented and chaotic Palestinian Authority (PA) security
forces, Sharon kept demanding that the PA should immediately use its
"30,000" police and security forces against Palestinian resistance
groups.

Knowing that his technologically advanced and highly experienced
troops have been trying for four years to fight against resistance
without much success, Sharon is pushing Abbas to a confrontation that,
even if he desires, he is not ready for.

It seems that Sharon couldn't care less if he pushes Abbas down the
cliff.

From the other side, and likely due to fears of steps that could be
taken by the new Palestinian leadership, Gaza resistance groups
escalated what they describe as responses to Israeli military attacks
by intensifying shelling of Israeli targets; the exact issue that
Abbas called for a halting of, even during his election campaign.

Abbas was elected as the new Palestinian President based on a clear
program he presented to the electorate: enforcing law and order in the
PA controlled areas; solving all problems with resistance groups
through dialogue only; and resuming peace talks in which he would
attempt to advance Palestinians' right to a state within the pre 1967
borders, including East Jerusalem, and rights of refugees to return.

Abbas needs time to work out a cease-fire agreement with resistance
groups, most of whom have accepted the idea in principle; and to
rebuild and reform his security forces. Apparently, Sharon is not
willing to provide the needed time.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom eloquently explained the
Israeli position when he said,"We will not accept to fight in the
morning and hold peace talks in the night, there will be no
negotiations under fire", yet, he did not apparently realized that by
not accepting to be partner to a cease-fire, he is demanding
Palestinians to accept to be attacked in the morning and set to
negotiations at night.

As he launched his campaign for president, Abbas thought he could
still pull both sides of the string. He believed that resistance
groups will be open to the idea of halting mortar firings, and such a
move will force Sharon to engage in diplomatic talks, and finally
accept a mutual cease-fire.

In reality, Palestinian resistance groups considered his cease-fire
proposal as a starting point for lengthy negotiations over the
logistical sides of a possible truce and about Israeli steps offered
in exchange, but also over other socio-political arrangements to
define future relations with the new leadership.

For them, Abbas was seen as the mediator who would shuttle between the
resistance and Israel in order to bring about a mutual cease-fire
agreement.

Sharon, from the other side, is more interested in mobilizing PA
security against resistance groups than in having Abbas as a political
partner.

Arafat learned this lesson well and realized that there was no way to
bridge the gap between Israeli and Palestinian resistance demands;
therefore the region was set into the fire of conflict and a political
coma.
Abbas can't survive a political coma; therefore he decided to deploy
PA security in places where friction is likely with Palestinian
resistance groups; a dangerous move, which requires tremendous
Palestinian wisdom in order to prevent a clash that could cause him to
lose all the cards he is playing within PA areas.



2- World Bank to Purchase Settlers' Hothouses for PA
IMEMC & Agencies, January 20, 2005, 14:24

World Bank might purchase hothouses and farming equipment from Gush
Katif settlers in order to hand them over to Palestinians, said on
Thursday Yonathan Bassie, Disengagement Administration Chief.

Bassi presented the plan to members of the moshav agricultural union
in Tel Aviv, saying that purchasing agricultural equipment by the
World Bank will enable his department to increase compensation and
financial assistance to the settlers evacuated under the
disengagement.

According to Bassi, Agreksco - export company of agricultural produce
- has expressed willingness to keep exporting the produce for
Palestinians.