Hawkish remarks

Mahmoud Abbas is getting overly ambitious. I guess the thought of a moderate Palestinian leader was just too good to be true after all.

Less than three days after he urged Palestinians to refrain from excessive celebrations over the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Friday presided over a huge celebration in Gaza City where he declared: "Today we are celebrating the liberation of Gaza and the northern West Bank; tomorrow we will celebrate the liberation of Jerusalem."

PA Civil Affairs Minister Muhammed Dahlan, who appeared next to Abbas, told the crowd that the Palestinians were celebrating "the day of victory and the beginning of a new era that was achieved with the blood of our martyrs."

In the words of my favorite space pirate: Don't get cocky.