Peace hopes rest on Abbas shoulders

A Palestinian injured youth is wheeled into the al-Shifa hospital following an Israeli incursion into the Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City yesterday. Six Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip even as the moderate Mahmud Abbas was sworn in as new Palestinian leader with a pledge to seek an end to the "vicious circle" of violence. PHOTO: AFP

Much hope rests on the shoulders of the moderate former prime minister for the revival of the Middle East peace process, with the international community determined to help strengthen him against the men of violence and translate his condemnation of the armed Intifada into a an end to attacks on Israel.

He is not short of good will, including from Israel and the United States, which both refused to deal with Arafat.

However, he is already shackled by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon having cut off all official contacts with the Palestinians late on Friday, less than 24 hours after a Palestinian attack at a crossing from the Gaza Strip into Israel left six Israelis dead.

Outgoing US Secretary of State Colin Powell has called Abbas "a good man", while President George W. Bush said Washington "wants to help a government like Abu Mazen's (Abbas), so long as it remains committed to a peaceful resolution of conflict."

Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who worked closely with Abbas during the heyday of the peace process in the early 1990s, has said he "will be an uncompromising partner, but he is a wise man, experienced and moderate."

His austere style contrasts with his charismatic predecessor, whose trademark keffieh and fiery speeches had made him one of the world's most recognisable figures and a global symbol of resistance.