The weekend election of Mahmoud Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority opens, in a common image, a “window of opportunity” for progress in the Middle East. In Abbas the Israelis have the negotiating partner they did not have in Yasser Arafat. By voting overwhelmingly for a candidate who has forthrightly rejected violence, Palestinians have put their desire for negotiations on full display. This development alone is reason for hope, and in the convoluted Middle East, hope is always a political act. But it is a mistake to focus too narrowly on the election of Mahmoud Abbas as the source of such hope, because Palestinians acting alone cannot change the dynamic of war. There are many windows in the house of peace.
In fact, there is a remarkable convergence of opportunities just now, developments in Israel and around the globe having significant implications for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. A constellation of signs of the times, including tragedy in Asia and an unjust war in Iraq, defines this moment as uniquely ripe.