But, unlike Oslo, when Abbas was working under Arafat and able to project power from that base, as Palestinian president he was both negotiator and supposedly the center of power. The Israelis discerned Abbas’s weakness early on, and once Hamas was elected in a landslide, had little incentive to help him despite the prodding of the United States.
作为领导奥斯陆进程，见证巴勒斯坦权力机构创建的人，阿巴斯认为在与以色列人谈判方面自己应该驾轻就熟。但与奥斯陆的情况不同，当阿巴斯在阿拉法特麾下工作时他能以此为基础运用权力。而作为巴勒斯坦总统，他既是谈判者，也应该是权力的中心。以色列人早就洞悉了阿巴斯的弱点，所以即便有美国在一旁敦促，一旦哈马斯以压倒性的姿态赢得了选举，他们就没有什么动力再帮助阿巴斯了。