Last week’s meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama was a circus. Surrounded by intense media scrutiny and intrigue, the meeting was preceded and followed by endless speculation and analysis. Today’s meeting with Mahmoud Abbas? Not so much.
The face to face is scheduled for later this afternoon, and so far the discussion leading up to it has focused on whether Abbas is even still relevant. Tony Karon asks this question over at Time.com, pointing out that “his political authority over his own people is so limited that he is unable to effectively negotiate on their behalf.” Howard Schneider made a similar point for the Washington Post in his article “Abbas’s Credibility Problem.” Schneider begins,
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas heads a fractured government and a fractured political party. His term expired four months ago. His handpicked prime minister, trusted to manage billions of dollars in foreign aid, is reviled by some Palestinians as a U.S. proxy.
Not promising. One sign of Abbas’s credibility program can be seen over at Kabobfest.
Undoubtedly both Obama and Abbas will be united behind the demand that Israel stops settlement construction, a demand that Israel so far has rejected. Perhaps the most useful news that could come out of today’s meeting are signs that the US would actually support real elections where Palestinians can choose their own leadership.
