The announcement last week that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas need not worry about job security was disturbingly revealing. Indeed, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s ruling Central Council declared that Mr. Abbas’s soon-to-expire term will be extended indefinitely. This comes as the politically battered 74-year-old terrorist turned politician has widely said that he would stand for reelection. That’s due to his frustration with both Israel not acceding to his every demand before resuming negotiations and the control of the Gaza Strip by a violent rival, the Hamas Islamic fundamentalist group.

For good measure, the PNC delegates agreed to back Mr. Abbas’s absurd policy of not speaking with Israel without a prior comprehensive freeze on West Bank settlement expansion and East Jerusalem housing, areas Israel won in the 1967 Six-day War and which the Palestinians want included in a future state of their own. Mind you, were Israel to insist that the Palestinians publicly renounce the “right of return” to family properties in pre-state Palestine before negotiations, the screams of the Palestinian and international community would be audible from the Mideast to Owings Mills.

The worst of the Palestinian attitude was spelled out by PNC member Adnan Garib. “Negotiate? What for? For the sake of negotiations?” he asked. The response to that is clear: “Negotiate to minimize tensions and lead to creative responses that end the bloodshed of your people. Is that not your goal?”

What all this means, much as Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu keeps declaring, is that while the Jewish state seems prepared to talk, nobody else is willing to sit and have the conversation.

So for now the only appropriate policy seems to be Israel’s keeping the offer for dialogue open while continuing to enable Mr. Abbas – despite the Palestinian leader’s noxious statements about Israel – build the West Bank economy as both Israeli and Palestinian security forces quietly work together to intercept terrorists.

Still, we must not allow our attitudes to harden. We American Jews should keep Mr. Netanyahu to his pledge and keep asking him and his representatives how they are improving the lot of Palestinians and how they are keeping to their promise of halting settlement expansion. We also need to keep highlighting and funding co-existence projects.

Meanwhile, Palestinian democracy will continue to be held hostage by the poor performance of its leaders.

The end of your post was a bit sad. You don’t have to worry about Netanyahu being too harsh nor American Jewish attitudes hardening. Likud and Bibi are collapsing to US demands as Obama has lowered the stature of the American Presidency ad he bows to Muslim threats.Israel’s Likud has proven to be more leftist then Israel’s leftists following in the path of Begin’s Destruction of Yamit 75 and Sharon׳s Destruction of Gush Katif - the Likud talks tough but when all is said and done they appease terrorists and cower to Arab demands. American Jews do not have to worry about Bibi stepping out of line and thumbing America in the eye or embarassing American Jews. Bibi has stopped all construction in Judea and Sameria even in places like Gush Etzion - Alon Shvut, communities
within the consensus. Bibi has declared officially that there will be a Palestinian State and is doing what he can to make that a reality more than the Left did.American Jews need to understand that by supporting Bib and Likud,and supporting a construction freeze they are strangling Jewish communities and families in Judea and Sameria - which will lead to more Gush Katiff like surrenders and which will result in missles, Arab terrorism, bloodshed and another Muslim fanatical state called “Palestine” whose goal is to destroy and replace Israel. Jewish leaders like Bibi must return to stregthening Jewish settlement and building the Jewish State and American Jewish journalists and Jews that really care about Jewish lives in Israel should open their eyes before it is too late and more Jewish blood is spilt.