Turns out the Palestinians are unwilling to crack down on violence, but are demanding that the Israelis make concessions anyway. Not with this Prime Minister:
Calling Tuesday’s summit meeting between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas a failure, Palestinian leaders expressed frustration over Israel’s insistence on linking major concessions to the cessation of violence… In the meeting Abbas said, “If I had more power, I would stop terror.” Sharon then said that he had enough forces. “Don’t say you’re weak. People will believe it,” Sharon told him.
And just so that everyone is on the same page:
Israel has resumed an assassination policy against Islamic Jihad militants, a sign of how far a truce with the Palestinians has deteriorated.
Personally, I would have thought that the murder of Israelis by Islamic Jihad militants was a sign of how far a truce with the Palestinians has deteriorated, but it’s Reuters so you take what you can get.
