Nobel Prize Winner for Peace dashes Palestinian hopes

The President of HOPE has damaged hopes of peace in the Middle East.

In the space of three weeks, critics say the winner thief of this year's Nobel Peace Prize has alienated much of the Palestinian public, jeopardised the political future of a vital American ally in the West Bank and unwittingly boosted Hamas, the radical Islamist movement.

As a direct result of US pressure, Mahmoud Abbas, the moderate Palestinian leader, withdrew his endorsement of a report commissioned by the United Nations which accused Israel and Hamas of "war crimes" in Gaza. The backlash against Mr Abbas among ordinary Palestinians has been furious.

Amid a barrage of criticism and calls for his resignation even from within his own Fatah movement, Mr Abbas has been forced to order an internal investigation into the matter. "Obama made a big mistake asking Abbas to do this," said Mahmoud al-Ramahi, the secretary general of the Palestinian Legislative Council. "He has weakened Abbas and damaged his popularity."

This crisis has caused further ripples. Hamas has used it as a pretext to delay a reconciliation agreement with Fatah. Forced to try to divert attention, Fatah loyalists encouraged some of the worst Palestinian unrest in Jerusalem for several years last week when there was violence in the Old City. They also threatened a third Intifada, or uprising, against Israel.

But Fatah's call for a general strike went largely unheeded and even some of the demonstrators said they were angrier with Mr Abbas than with Israel.

"There will be a third intifada," one protestor said. "But it will be against Abbas not the Israelis."

Frustration among Palestinians is also being directed at Mr Obama after he appeared to retreat from his demands that Israel "freeze" the construction of all homes in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Instead, the President carefully modified his language, calling only for "restraint".

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, appeared overjoyed at the retreat, saying: "I understand English. Restraint and freeze are two different things."

But Palestinians accuse Mr Obama of betraying the sentiments he voiced in Cairo just four months ago when he tried to portray America as an even-handed mediator and spoke of how the Palestinians' plight was "intolerable".

"We had more than a little hope that things would change with an Obama administration," said Hassan Tabaja, a Palestinian rights activist. "Now the almost universal feeling among Palestinians is one of disappointment."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/6299764/Barack-Obama-dashes-Palestinian-hopes.html