Another day, another “protection racket” threat by Fatah

Posted on 10/29/2007 by Elder of Ziyon

Fatah has a real good racket going on – they do the Mafia-style “threats” and no one calls them on it:

The top negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala), warned on Sunday that the region would suffer greatly in the event that the upcoming Annapolis peace conference failed.

“If the summit fails – frustration will win out over everything else and it will have a negative affect on the region. I cannot predict exactly what will happen, but it may lead to more wars.

“I warn now against failure there, which will open the door for extremists and extremism – and that door will be very difficult to close,” said Qureia at a conference held by Meretz activists.

Oh, he can predict precisely what will happen all right – if past history is any guide, Fatah is planning the newest intifada phase right now in anticipation of a summit that doesn’t accede to all of their demands, just as they did in 2000.

Notice also the usual Arab subtext that they cannot control their “street.” This excuse has been used for decades, but for some reason they manage to control their people quite fine – and brutally – when they go against the wishes of whatever regime they are in. It is only when they want to do something that the Arab regimes agree with that they turn into such a “threat.”

I have previously described this as “the diplomacy of fear,” a well-used part of the Arab negotiating lexicon. It is quite effective so there is no reason for Arabs and Muslims to stop using it.

cross-posted at Elder of Ziyon

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One Response to Another day, another “protection racket” threat by Fatah

  1. Ed Hausman says:
    10/31/2007 at 5:14 am

    This conference was the biggest diplomatic gaffe the administration could have made. It’s true that the disconnect between expectations and reality will lead to more problems.

    What possessed Pres. Bush to think the Arabs were even ready for a state? They haven’t established a working administration, they continue government and religous and media incitement, by which they fail to prepare their people for less than their maximalist demands.

    Then they run around insisting that the conference supply a final status agreement, exacerbating the negative reaction when it produces more hot air.

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