Conversation with Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahar, chief of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, who treats PA President Abbas as a used car. The election next week, January 25, will deliver overwhelmingly to Hamas in Gaza and will demonstrate that the Palestinian Authority is a ruse. There is no authority. There are factions within the landscape that have divided loyalties and paymasters. The coalition will consist of Hamas, Al Aqsa, Islamic Jihad, HizbAllah, the Popular Resistance Committee, the PFLP and so forth. I asked al-Zahar if, as a major leader of the Coalition, if he would negotiate with the UN or the Quartet with regard the so-called Road Map. He was adamant. No road map after the elections.
The US State Department depends upon the road map as if it were holy writ. Up ahead is an unknown country. No guides. Bootless.
