o the editor:
Nobody should be surprised that PLO chair Mahmoud Abbas is boycotting the workshop in Bahrain, even though its focus is simply to make things better for the Palestinian Arabs he, in his role as leader of the Palestinian Arab, is supposed to be championing.
After all, Abbas and his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, the godfather of modern political terrorism, have spurned every opportunity ever offered to improve the lives of their people and even to give them their own sovereign state. It's particularly laughable to read Abbas saying "But before everything, there is a political solution" when he has not only repeatedly rejected political solutions, but has effectively refused to negotiate with Israel for more than a decade and his foreign minister has said he will never again negotiate directly with Israel.
The Palestinians will continue to suffer until a new leader arises who is actually interested in their welfare.
Sincerely,
Alan Stein