Israelis are sceptical about Abbas legitimacy

Israeli intelligence reports have revealed that agents believe that it will be difficult for Israel to reach a final peace agreement with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas because he does not represent all Palestinians. The Israeli cabinet discussed the reports on Wednesday.

Israeli media reported officials saying that the meeting was held to discuss the threats to the state. The anonymous officials said that Israel’s spy agency, Mossad, believe that an agreement with Abbas will not be possible, with serious doubts about his legitimacy as a Palestinian leader. “Around 50 per cent of Palestinians do not support Abbas,” they said.

According to right-wing extremist Avigdor Lieberman Abbas himself is “an obstacle” to peace. “Does he represent all the Palestinians?” asked the foreign minister rhetorically. “Clearly, he does not represent Palestinians in Gaza and his legitimacy in the West Bank is questionable. Signing an agreement with Abbas is merely signing an agreement with Fatah, the faction which he heads.”

Industry Minister Naftali Bennett, also an extreme right-winger, said that Abbas does not represent more than 40 per cent of the Palestinians. “If we reached an agreement with him, more than 60 per cent of the Palestinians in Gaza will not accept it,” he claimed.