For peace, Abbas's long-standing rejectionism has to be defeated

• Author: GREGG ROMAN
• Published date: 03 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Abbas is at an all-time low in popularity. His failed Palestinian elections gambit, coupled with the murder of critic Nizar Banat and subsequent clampdown on demonstrations have meant that many are calling for the end of the Abbas era. A poll published last week by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research showed that almost 80% of the Palestinian public demands the resignation of Abbas.

While many might see Abbas's speech as a way to engender favorability at home, it is also the cry of a leader who knows that his strategy is failing. Abbas' tenure has been full of missed opportunities for his people. He firmly rejected the overly generous offer by prime minister Ehud Olmert in 2008, claiming in an interview with The Washington Post a few months later that his people were in no rush as "in the West Bank we have a good reality... the people are living a normal life."

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He then demanded that Israel freeze building in Israeli communities to arrive at further negotiations, which they subsequently did. Yet, Abbas still stayed away from the negotiating table.

There are many other examples of failures to engage with Israel or return to the peace process and Abbas turned them all down. For many years, this left many Israeli senior officials and decision-makers to understand that Abbas is too embedded in rejectionism to move an inch toward them. While there was some hope that Abbas would be more amenable than Yasser Arafat, that idea quickly evaporated, despite his better understanding of diplomacy and the language of international relations.

In fact, it could be argued that Abbas has reversed any gains made by the Palestinians under Arafat, and the very recognition of Israel, the type of mutual recognition that was the foundation of the Oslo Accords, is now under threat.

There are a number of approaches that Israel and its leaders could take. Israel could go down the endless tunnel of greater concessions and try to appease Abbas by teasing him away from his extolled brink. History has demonstrated where this will lead.

Another path could be for Israel to use this as an opportunity to defeat Palestinian rejectionism once and for all. It could embark on the Israel victory route and take stronger measures against Abbas and his rejectionist cadres. These figures still believe that they will ultimately pummel Israel into...