[Timesink]

Well, I'm shocked.

[yonif]

While one official said Abbas resigned in order to bring massive international pressure on Arafat to take him back and give him real power, other officials said it was a tactical move to get Israel and the US to reduce pressure on Abbas to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure.

"This is the only first scene in the first play," one official in the Prime Minister's Office said. "It is a show. They are trying to show the Americans they are having all kinds of problems, and that they need more time to get organized."

EXACTLY

[Joe Boucher]

If ararat is unwilling to dismantle the terror groups then Israel should do as they have been for the last few weeks, when they get reliable info on the location of one of the leaders of the murders they should use whatever means to take them out.

[tubavil]

"We have said that if the PA does not take action against Hamas we will do so, and we mean what we say," the official said.

Massive credibility gap.

[July 4th]

Now we need to get rid of Arafat. That is step #1 in "dismantling the terrorist infrastructure."

[marron]

The road map never had a chance, but this makes it explicit.

Abbas's failure owes to simple reality, and to Arafat. Reality and Arafat must both be dealt with.

I personally liked Israel's earlier Arafat policy, and I think they should immediately return to it. Immediately, not waiting for yet another atrocity, they should roll back in and place his entire office block under house arrest. All communications to the outside world should be cut. They can deliver groceries to the door.

And Israel should then simply refuse all comment on the subject. Arafat is in prison, he will remain there until he dies. End of story.

Separate from this, they should choose a defensible border, and seal it. Anyone who can't live in peace should simply be expelled from the territory. The idea that this might provoke a reaction from the Arab world is silly; they are at war now, Israelis are dying now, confronting their enemies openly and frankly can only improve matters. The EU won't like it, the UN won't like it, but they are never going to back Israel no matter what they do. Get over it.

[owl]

Why don't the Palestinians get smart and renounce all aspirations for statehood and independence. Instead, they should announce their desire to live in peace under an enlightened democratic Israeli government in a unified state where all residents enjoy full and equal citizenship rights.

[EGPWS]

While one official said Abbas resigned in order to bring massive international pressure on Arafat to take him back and give him real power, other officials said it was a tactical move to get Israel and the US to reduce pressure on Abbas to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure.

If this IS the case, I hope Abbas has "hi capacity lungs" for he will be holding his breath for quite some time.

[cake_crumb]

Will the left ever admit that Yasser is the PROBLEM? Nope. Even after the bloody decades of his reign of terror, the left loves Yasser. Yasser the terrorist.

[LaGrone]

Don't deliver the sardines to Arafat. However, may he sleep with the fishes!!

[veronica]

Buh bye..."road map."

[samtheman]

Why is Arafat alive?

[RightWhale]

One senior diplomatic official

One senior diplomatic official does not speak for Israel.

[witnesstothefall]

iWe have said that if the PA does not take action against Hamas we will do so, and we mean what we say...

George Bush needs to get back in the business of meaning what he says in the War on Terror. Slouching toward victory is a recipe for defeat.

[Brandon]

While one official said Abbas resigned in order to bring massive international pressure on Arafat to take him back and give him real power, other officials said it was a tactical move to get Israel and the US to reduce pressure on Abbas to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure.

If the part in bold is the reason Abbas did this, I suspect he, like so many others, has misunderestimated President Bush. The President has a well-established track record in foreign policy of giving our enemies one -- and only one -- chance to get their house in order, before he drops the hammer. In this case, the hammer would presumably be to unleash the IDF.

[RockyMtnMan]

Yawn, SSDD. Kill Terrorfat relocate the "refuges" to Jordon and kill as many terrorists as possible in the process, this is the ONLY true "Road Map" everything else is farting in the wind.

[wizardoz]

That road map was never good for anything anyway. Maybe wadding up at the bottom of the grill to get the charcoal going. Or lining the cat box. Or cutting into strips and soaking in water and flour for paper-mache. Or using to soak up the blood of Israeli children as it runs down the street from yet another exploded bus.

[Gal.5:1]

"If they don't like the road map, I don't know what they will like." Colin Powell

[Smile-n-Win]

Woo hoo! Good bye, road map!

This just made my day.