Abbas Blames Hamas For Extending Gaza War

[Valin]

The Feed:

August 30, 2014

 

 

Hamas is to blame for the extent of the bloodshed during the recent Gaza War, said Benjamin Netanyahu Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority. The AP reports:

 

(Snip)

 

Abbas’ remarks are a reminder that for many reasons, the recent war saw many Arabs align, tacitly, on Israel’s side. (A U.S. Administration could take advantage of this to promote long-term acceptance, especially if the President’s recent overtures toward the Sunnis turn out to be more than a feint.) The PA comments may also have been driven by recent Israeli revelations that Hamas planned a coup in the West Bank.

 

Going forward, any efforts Abbas makes to distance the PA from Hamas will probably help cover Egypt as it seeks to maintain a stranglehold on Hamas. But blockades go both ways: will the Palestinian Authority, having promoted the narrative that Hamas has blood on its hands, face a Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement from America’s college campuses? After all, that’s a movement of serious, well-intentioned people, not just highbrow, antisemitic rabble rousers—right?