#3 Remember, Abbas believes that the Palestinians can peacefully outbreed the Israelis, in the end pushing them off the land by sheer force of numbers. Off the top of my head, Palestinian fertility is about 6 births/woman (down from 9) vs. 2.5 for Jewish Israelis and about 5 for Muslim Israelis. On the other hand, the Palestinian death rate appears fairly high,due to rule-by-thug and variously caused explosions and "lead poisoning", much higher than that of the Israelis these days. Also, Palestinian emigration of the most highly educated and those who desire to live more quietly, continues to be high. So I don't think Abbas is correct in his view of historical trends. On the other hand, there is some question -- in my mind at least -- how long he will live to push his position.
Popcorn, anyone? |
Presidential election frontrunner Mahmud Abbas urged Palestinians to abandon the armed uprising on Sunday as Israel vowed to ensure a free and fair ballot to choose Yasser Arafat's successor. Abbas said that the Palestinians could not hope to secure a military victory over the Israelis and that attacks by militant groups and the use of weapons would only be counter-productive to the national cause. "I believe that it is clear that a military solution is impossible," the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chairman told a gathering of business leaders in the West Bank town of Ramallah.