[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:

If Khaled Abu Toameh is correct in his analysis then the logical conclusion,
by extension, is that it is virtually impossible for Israel to reach a
viable peace agreement with legitimate and credible representatives of the
Palestinians for the simple reasons that any Palestinian leader who accepts
the elements that are a necessary condition for a viable agreement cannot
retain their own legitimacy or credibility. ]

Al-Jazeera’s show trial could bring down PA leadership
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH The Jerusalem Post 01/25/2011 01:31
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=205079

Analysis: It’s hard to see how, in light of damning verdict, the W. Bank
leadership will be able to salvage what’s left of its credibility.

After assuming the role of prosecutor and judge, Al- Jazeera, the Arab world’s
most influential TV network, has ruled that the leaders of the Palestinian
Authority have betrayed their people and must therefore step down from the
stage.

The “defendants” have been found guilty of ceding control over most of east
Jerusalem to Israel, relinquishing the right of return for millions of
Palestinian refugees and conducting security coordination with Israeli
security authorities.

In other words, PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his men have been convicted
of high treason – which, in the Arab and Islamic world, is a crime
punishable by death.

Al-Jazeera is now waiting for the executioner (the Palestinians, in this
case) to carry out the death sentence.

Al-Jazeera’s dramatic show trial, which began on Sunday night, has
undoubtedly caused massive damage to the PA leadership in the West Bank. The
blow is so severe that it’s hard to see how the PA leadership can ever
recover.

The beleaguered Abbas and his top aides have since been scrambling to
control damage caused by the revelations, but with limited success.

Their major line of defense claims that the revelations are part of a
“conspiracy” designed to discredit the PA leadership because of its refusal
to return to the negotiating table unless Israel halts construction in the
settlements.

Some PA officials have claimed that Qatar, which owns Al-Jazeera, has set
out to “politically liquidate” Abbas and his team to help Hamas extend its
control to the West Bank. Others have claimed that Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman were behind the scandal,
which is being dubbed the “Palestinian Watergate.”

But many ordinary Palestinians did not seem to buy these claims. Some went
as far as saying that the allegations against the PA leaders did not
surprise them.

Most Palestinians who were interviewed in east Jerusalem and Ramallah said
they had never had much confidence anyway in Abbas and negotiators Saeb
Erekat, Ahmed Qurei and Yasser Abed Rabbo.

Al-Jazeera’s show trial has only come to reconfirm many Palestinians’
suspicions about their leaders in the West Bank.

In the past, Palestinians used to hear these allegations from Hamas and
other enemies of the PA. Now, however, Palestinians are hearing the charges
against their representatives from what most consider a widely respected and
reliable media outlet.

On the first day of the show trial, Palestinians were told that Abbas,
Erekat and Qurei had given up Arab and Muslim rights to Jerusalem and the
Haram a-Sharif, or Temple Mount.

On the second day, Al- Jazeera’s jury found Abbas and his team guilty of
selling out on the issue of Palestinian refugees.

On day three, Tuesday, Al- Jazeera has promised to display evidence of the
PA’s collusion with Israel in the elimination of Palestinian gunmen.

The TV station has already decided that the defendants are guilty of the
three charges against them. The station’s unequivocal message to
Palestinians is that Abbas and his men are traitors who need to be removed
from the scene, and the sooner the better.

It’s hard to see how, in light of this damning verdict, the PA will be able
to salvage what’s left of its credibility. Al- Jazeera has succeeded in
instilling in the minds of many Palestinians and Arabs the belief that the
leaders of the PA are a bunch of corrupt traitors who serve Israeli and
American interests.

The damage to the PA’s image and reputation is colossal and irreparable.