At a time when politicos are attacking the leadership of the Palestinian Authority, and when over and over again the claim is heard that there is no partner on the other side, it is worthwhile presenting events in the West Bank which, for political reasons, are intentionally ignored. I am referring to the very fruitful and successful cooperation between the Palestinians and the Israeli defense establishment, which developed secretly, and which is one of the reasons why Israeli citizens enjoy such a calm security situation of late.

Mahmoud Abbas, the president, and Salam Fayyad, the prime minister, fight terrorism. They do not make do with condemnation, but also take action to foil terror. At Military Intelligence they say that, unlike the approach of Yasser Arafat, now “the mouths and hearts of these two are in the same place.” Arafat spoke about an agreement with Israel but called for jihad and slipped funds to the Tanzim (the military wing of Fatah ) to fund terrorist attacks. When the current Palestinian Authority leadership condemns terrorist actions, it really means it.”

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