A Conundrum Within A Puzzle

"We don't want to go back to chaos and destruction, as we did in the second [Palestinian] uprising. I say it openly and frankly. We will not go back to an uprising that will destroy us."
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

"These comments are based on the Zionist narrative [harming the Palestinian interest]."
Sami Abu Zuhri Hamas Gaza spokesman

"Security co-ordination isn't in anyone's interest except the interest of the enemy and the settlers."
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

Israeli soldiers patrol as they search for three missing Israeli teens near the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday, June 20, 2014. Photo by AP

Well, it seems it's never too late for people to develop intelligence and compassion and alter original theories when the historical record can no longer be ignored. In making his most recent statements of intention, Mr. Abbas has come a long way from his doctoral thesis written for his degree at the Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow. The Connection between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement, it seems was then. This is now.

And now President Abbas has made a number of startling statements, among them that he does not support the boycott and divestment movement, targeting Israel. This week he defended his security cooperation with Israel despite widespread criticism. He informed senior Arab and Muslim officials that it is under his orders that his forces are aiding in the search for three Israeli teens abducted in the West Bank. "These youths are human beings", he explained.

In view of the scope and ferocity of the IDF crackdown in its fierce determination to discover the whereabouts of the three Israeli teens, the willingness of President Abbas to risk his reputation as a resolute "resistor" of Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories is rather  surprising. In a fit of candour and compassion this man who has repeatedly incited Palestinians to violence against Israel, who has earmarked international financial aid to pay monthly stipends to the families of "martyrs", has turned his reputation inside out.

He has just recently formed a unity government with Hamas, which remains in governance of Gaza. Hamas has seen its fortunes turned around with the removal of Mohammad Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, its funding source dried there, and from Iran as well, in retaliation for its hostility toward the Syrian regime targeting Syrian Sunnis for annihilation in response to rebellion against the Shia-led regime.

The unity government which leaves Fatah's position with the PA governing the West Bank intact, with Hamas more nominal partners for Palestinian unity than actually sharing power has infuriated Israel, since the Hamas charter specifically calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. Mr. Abbas, in view of all this, truly is walking a fine line as the leader of the Palestinians making common cause with the occupying enemy, in compassion for three young men whom Israel claims are being held by Hamas.

The Organization of Islamic Co-operation was informed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that security co-ordination represents the Palestinians' best interests. Thousands of Israeli soldiers have searched hundreds of locations, in the process arresting hundreds of Palestinians; activists and political leaders in Hamas. While accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of exploiting the abductions "to oppress us and destroy everything and create chaos", Mr. Abbas is adamant in his position of co-operation.

A matter of human rights and compassionate principles? Only time will tell. In such a short time between smilingly signing the unity agreement with Hamas, now putting distance between himself and Hamas in his defence of joined security co-operation and empathy for the missing teens, Mr. Abbas may in fact have signed his own death warrant.