Coming Soon, Palestinian Elections

The constitution provides that the President, Rawhi Fattouh, be in charge for sixty days, until the elections. After that, the new leader takes charge. He will probably not be the new leader; he is too easy-going to win anything. Nor will Farouk Kaddoumi, the number two in El Fatah. Kaddoumi, you fans will remember, strongly opposed the Oslo Accords.

The two front-runners, Mahmoud Abbas and Ahmoud Qorei, are considered moderates. Both are in their late sixties. Of the two, Abbas, number two man in the PLO, is considered to be the more pragmatic. Qorei, a banker and financier, is also no friend of the militants. There are two others in the running, but probably less likely to win. There is, therefore hope.

This would be a great time for President Bush to stand up and tell those people, Palestinians and Israeli's alike, to "Negotiate now".