Wednesday, August 3, 2005

Islamic Jihad to Suspend Rocket Attacks

Extremist group Islamic Jihad has said that it will suspend its rocket attacks against Israelis during the Israeli pullout from Gaza.

I will comment on this more completely later, but for now, let me say this. Mahmoud Abbas has been able to accomplish more since Yasser Arafat's death than Yasser Arafat was ever able to accomplish in reining in Palestinian extremist elements, and I applaud him for that. Of course, this is mostly because Arafat died, but still, it's good.

I'm anxious that the Israeli pullout should go as smoothly and peacefully as possible. It's going to be a huge step towards building a two-state solution and ending decades of mutual hatred and bloodshed. I applaud both sides for their willingness to work together on this important step.