Palestinian Crisis

Yesterday I suggested that Mahmud Abbas was basicly trying to create a sort of Pan-Palestinian front until enough momentum had been built toward peace and the PA had gained enough strength that the rejectionists could be safely confronted and defeated. If that is the case, today there is a major crisis in that front. It began with the arrest of a number of militants from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades by PA security and Yasser Arafat's personal guards. Now at least some leaders in the AMB have called an end to the ceasefire with Israel calling the Palestinian authorities "collaborators. Of course despite the subject line it could be argued that this is more a crisis for Israelis, who are now subject to being killed by AMB terrorists. Whatever the case, the fate of the peace process and Israel's long-term security ultimately depends on a PA which can control their own territory, of which this is an important and hopefully not premature test.