Press release from www.theisraelproject.org

Washington, D.C. — Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas is due to arrive in Washington on Thurs., Oct. 20 to meet with President Bush, just days after the Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade, a faction of Abbas’ Fatah party, claimed responsibility for two drive-by shootings in the West Bank. The two leaders are slated to discuss measures necessary to resume the Middle East peace process, with Bush expected to ask Abbas to demonstrate that the PA has made promised reforms such as disarming militant groups.

Bush also invited Abbas to the White House to emphasize his expectations for progress. He reportedly wants to hear how the Palestinian leader plans to:

• Restructure and consolidate PA security forces
• Reform the PA
• Mend differences between old Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) officials and the ‘young guard’
• Revive the economy
• Prevent further support for extremists such as Hamas and disarm terrorists organizations
• Resume negotiations with Israel

The recent attacks, which killed three Israelis and injured six others, are the bloodiest since Israel withdrew from all of Gaza and parts of the northern West Bank in August. The gunmen first targeted a hitchhikers’ stand at the Gush Etzion junction south of Jerusalem and later fired shots as they sped by the West Bank community of Eli.

The victims of the Oct. 16 shootings were two women, Kinneret Mandel, 23, her cousin Matat Rosenfeld-Adler, 21 and Oz Ben-Meir, 15. Mandel and Rosenfeld-Adler were from the community of Carmel and Ben-Meir was from Ma’on, near Hebron. Both areas are south of Jerusalem in the West Bank.

Three weeks ago Abbas refused a request by the Quartet of international peace mediators to crack down on militant groups. “We [Palestinians] know more and are more capable than others in dealing with our brothers,” Abbas was quoted as saying in a Sept. 21 al-Jazeera report. The gunmen were from the PA-controlled city of Bethlehem.

The deaths of the three Israelis occurred one day before the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Israeli security had received 40 warnings about possible terrorist attacks over the Jewish holiday. Although the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade claimed responsibility for the shootings, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported Oct. 17 that Israel Defense Forces officials believe Hamas may have perpetrated the attacks but isn’t taking credit so that Hamas can appear to be honoring its ceasefire agreement and get financial support from the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon. Israel officials have cautioned that Palestinian terror operations would shift from Gaza to the West Bank following the Gaza disengagement.

Since he was elected President in January 2005, Abbas has made progress on some reforms but has faltered on others. Abbas has refused to disarm terrorist organizations and plans to allow them to participate in upcoming legislative elections. The United States has designated Hamas a terrorist organization. Australia, the European Union, Canada and Israel also have declared it a terrorist organization and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights has condemned it as a racist organization.

Additional Background

Abbas campaigned for the PA presidency on a platform that denounced Palestinian violence and an end to the Intifada. He also promised to rid the PA of corrupt officials and allocate money to revive the Palestinian economy. In a Sept. 27, 2004 interview with the Jordanian daily newspaper Al-Rai, Abbas admitted that the Intifada was a mistake because it cost lives, drained the economy and damaged public opinion towards the Palestinians. Although Abbas has been willing to denounce the violence that the Intifada brought about, he has yet to act against or disarm terrorist groups such as Hamas.

The issue of Hamas, its militant posture and its desire to join the Palestinian democratic process is a primary concern to the Bush administration. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has adamantly protested Hamas’ participation in the Jan. 2006 elections if the group remains armed. Fatah is finding Hamas a competitive challenger in parliamentary elections. In addition, Hamas has clashed violently with Fatah members, sometimes to the extent of gun battles. Although Abbas in March 2005 managed to arrange a hudna (temporary ceasefire), with Egypt’s help, among all of the armed Palestinian factions, he has refused to confront Hamas.

Abbas also insists that Israel must depart from all of the West Bank and retreat to the 1967 armistice line (Green Line). His other demands include making East Jerusalem the capital of a future autonomous Palestinian state and granting Palestinians the right of return to land inside Israel proper.

 Abbas’ nom de guerre is Abu Mazen. He is married to Amina and has two sons, Yaser and Tareq and seven grandchildren.

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Mahmoud Abbas:  A Biographical Timeline

1935 - Born in the northern Israeli city of Safed.

1948 - When the Arab-Israeli War broke out, Abbas and his family went to live in Syria. He graduated from the University of Damascus with a degree in law. Abbas is an attorney by profession.

1950’s - Worked for the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in Qatar as its Director of Personnel, where he recruited expatriates.

1957 - Was one of the founding figures of the political organization, Fatah, and is one of the last surviving original members.

1960’s -1980’s - Traveled with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat as one of his top confidants. After the group was expelled from Jordan and Lebanon, the PLO relocated to Tunisia until 1995, when it was allowed to return to Gaza.

1970’s - Initiated back-door dialogues with the Israeli left-wing.

1977 - Proclaimed acceptance of a two-state solution.

1980 - Was elected to the PLO Executive Committee in 1980 and later became the head of the PLO’s Department of National (Arab) Affairs.

1982- Obtained a Ph.D. in history from the Oriental College in Moscow; his dissertation alleged that a secret relationship existed between the Nazis and the Zionists. His dissertation argued that the number of Jews who died was exaggerated, something for which he later apologized.

1984 - Published a book in Arabic based on his Ph.D. thesis, The Other Side: the Secret Relationship between Nazism and Zionism (Amman, Jordan: Dar Ibn Rushd). 

1991 -1993 - Remained behind-the-scenes, negotiating Palestinian demands through dialogue, participating in such events as the Madrid Talks (1991) and the Oslo Peace Agreements (1993); traveled with Arafat to sign the accords at the White House.

2003, March 10 - Was appointed the Palestinian Authority’s first prime minister, but resigned after six months in office.

2005, Jan. 9 - Elected president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and officially took office on Jan. 15, 2005. He also serves as PLO chairman.

For more background information about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict click here.

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The Israel Project is an international non-profit organization devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace. The Israel Project provides journalists, leaders and opinion-makers accurate information about Israel.

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In Israel, contact Calev Ben-David at 011-972-2623-6427 or calevbd@theisraelproject.org
www.theisraelproject.org

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Related: Palestinians

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