| It's a whole new set of opportunities for the Paleos to miss. We'll know how it's going to turn out in about a month... |
| ... after the first boom or the second? ... |
"The elections are only the beginning, not the end. We have a program full of things to do in order to achieve peace," the dovish former prime minister said. The more than 40-point margin of Abbas' electoral victory grants him the legitimacy he needs to yank the peace process out of its slumber and resume talks with Israel. Before the voting was even over Sunday, a senior aide in Ariel Sharon's office said the Israeli prime minister was ready to meet the winner — whose identity was never in doubt — "as soon as possible".
Abbas is likely to have a summit meeting with Sharon in a fortnight, Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said yesterday. Asked when the two men would meet, Shaath said talks would take place "probably in two weeks". Top level Israeli-Palestinian contacts have been frozen since Abbas resigned as prime minister in September 2003. Both men have indicated a willingness to return to the negotiating table. There were no massive public displays of jubilation in the West Bank and Gaza after the election results, but Abbas will take over from Arafat with new-found Israeli cooperation and enthusiastic backing from the international community.
US President George W. Bush was among the world leaders to offer their congratulations and also invited Abbas to the White House. "I look forward to talking to him at the appropriate time. I look forward to welcoming him here to Washington if he chooses to come here," Bush said. The White House said Bush will speak by phone with Abbas later this week. Abbas met with Bush at the White House as Palestinian prime minister in July 2003. National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said Bush will "take this one step at a time."