Has President Abbas been bribed and bought by the USA to guarantee his submission to Israel’s demands?

It has been quite apparent even to casual observers of the strange but predictable Middle East Peace Opera that in the last two years President Mahmoud Abbas hasn’t done much to help the long suffering Palestinians. Yes, he has whined and grunted and mumbled a lot with international reporters, but hasn’t done much else. His behavior in the last two months, however, has been truly bizarre.

For nearly three months he insisted that he will neither negotiate with the Israelis regarding the Road Map for Peace, nor meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu in New York during the UN General Body meeting in September, until Israel halted all construction activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. But he changed his mind, nevertheless, and stood meekly near President Obama and extended his hand to Netanyahu.

Then the world heard the news last week about Abbas’ inexplicable and bizarre action regarding the Goldstone report on the Gaza war. He should have been happy to read the report’s conclusion that Israel might be guilty of War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity during the war, which the Israelis titled operation Cast Lead. Instead of asking the UN Human Rights Commission to review the report and take stern action against Israel, he actually asked the UN Commission to delay reviewing the report.

The newspaper Haaretz in Israel reported: “Palestinian sources told Haaretz that Abbas made the decision to delay the vote immediately after meeting with the U.S. Consul General last Thursday, without the knowledge of the PLO leadership or the government of Prime Minister Salam FayyadSalam Fayyad, and without any consultation.” Haaretz stated also that, “Palestinian officials say that there was "heavy and ongoing pressure" from the U.S., which warned that the adoption of the findings in the commission's report would stymie progress in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.”

A lot of people around the world, and especially the Palestinians, are deeply shocked at Abbas’ behavior. The Palestinian news agency Ma'an has reported that “In the wake of the uproar, Abbas on Sunday ordered an internal investigation into why his own government ruled to delay the vote.” It’s quite strange that Abbas acted as if he himself did not know why he asked the UN agency to delay its review of the Goldstone Report.

At first glance his behavior and action might appear to be bizarre, but on close scrutiny it makes sense. Perhaps there is a good reason and a method to his madness, after all. In the USA it’s an open secret that several Senators- both Republican and Democrat – who opposed the national Health Care reform have received huge amounts of cash from the Health Care Organizations and Pharmaceutical Industries. The money given is labeled as Campaign Financing, but in reality it’s really a form of bribe disguised as campaign contributions. The same process must be at work in the Ramallah offices of Mr. Abbas.

I do not have proof that Mr. Abbas has been bribed, of course. I am only asking a question. But the next time you see Mr. Abbas in a photo or on the TV, if you imagine that you are seeing a studded black leather collar round his neck with a leash attached, his bizarre behavior in the last two months suddenly begins to make sense after all.

Yesh Prabhu, Plainsboro, NJ