If that experiment succeeds, then the other parts of the Muslim Brotherhood will be clamoring for elections themselves and feel emboldened to achieve power and leadership through the ballot box.

The challenge for Abbas is to compel Israel to deal with Palestinians and the Palestinian agenda. Otherwise his credibility is going to suffer enormously.

You’re talking about a democratically elected Islamic government that is part of the wider Muslim Brotherhood network in the region.

The Palestinians are now in a heightened state of instability, of genuine chaos bordering on anarchy and incipient disintegration. They’re not in a position to exploit the room for maneuver that Sharon’s demise theoretically provides...