“In his speech to the UN General Assembly, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas once again made a common Palestinian mistake: a Palestinian leader does not have to persuade the nations of the world, but rather the Israelis. A Palestinian state will arise only if the Palestinians convince the Israelis that they are indeed ready to live in peace and mutual recognition. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was able to do so with his historic speech to the Knesset, which turned him in the blink of an eye from a bitter and cruel enemy to the most popular figure in Israel. Not only did Abbas not speak to the Israelis, but in his slanderous statements – which not coincidently mentioned Yasser Arafat (whom he extolled) – only deepened Israeli suspicions of Palestinian aims.”

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