Palestinian Problems Take Center Stage

Palestinian officials welcome the resumption of U.S. aid but admit that it won't solve their problems, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger.

"We have a major disaster, a major catastrophe, with this armed takeover in Gaza by these groups. And if we don't help ourselves as Palestinians nobody else will," said Palestinian legislator Saeb Erekat.

President Bush planned to discuss Abbas' request for a reinvigorated peace initiative, using his new stature as a springboard. An emboldened Abbas told Mr. Bush in a telephone call Monday that this is the time to make a move.

But Israeli analyst Dan Scheuftan says it's a waste of time.

"Mahmoud Abbas is a hologram. He doesn't really exist. He is a rumor. His authority in the West Bank is nonexistent," Scheuftan said.

Scheuftan believes Abbas cannot deliver on peace because, as in Gaza, he has no control over the terrorist militias that rule the streets.

Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised to be a partner with Abbas, something the Bush administration has been pushing, but it was not clear how far Olmert was willing to go.

Israel has seemed likely to free up millions in tax revenue it collects on behalf of the Palestinians, assuming it could ensure that the money flowed only to Abbas' operation in the West Bank. Ahead of his meeting with Bush,

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, meanwhile, was to brief members of Congress on Tuesday about the Bush administration's decision to restart the flow of aid to Abbas' government. She announced the move Monday, after more than a year in which the United States pledged support for Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, but withheld money for fear it would benefit Hamas radicals governing alongside him.

"It's a day late and a $100 million short," said Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., who chairs a House subcommittee focused on the Middle East. "If we were delivering goods to Abu Mazen and making him the Muslim Santa Claus in the Arab world so we was giving out the goodies, instead of Hamas, they wouldn't have lost the last election. And Hamas would have withered in the desert."

Hamas' surprise 2006 legislative victory ended decades of rule by Abbas' Fatah Party. Hamas won largely on the strength of the services and smooth government it delivered in its Gaza stronghold.

Hamas refuses to recognize Israel or renounce violence, conditions the world set for diplomatic engagement and aid. Hamas claims responsibility for the deaths of scores of Israelis in suicide attacks. Israel, the European Union and the United States list it as a terrorist group.

Abbas was elected separately and retained office through months of political impasse and upheaval. He tried a coalition government this spring, but he dissolved it last week after days of clashes in Gaza between his forces and Hamas that killed some 100 Palestinians.

Fearing death or persecution, Gazans began flocking to the Erez passage after Hamas militants wrested control of the coastal strip from Fatah security forces late last week. Israel, which has no interest in letting masses of Gazans pass through its territory and possibly destabilize the quieter West Bank, has refused to let most of them in, saying their lives were not in danger.

By Tuesday, about 600 people were holed up in the long, concrete tunnel that leads to the Israeli side of the crossing. Around 100 people belonged to Fatah security forces, but the rest were civilians, seeking a better life in the West Bank.

There is little sympathy among Israelis for the refugees at the crossing, reports Berger. Many are Fatah militants who were involved in terror against Israel and now they want Israel to save them. And even those not involved in terror hate Israel to the core, so many Israelis feel, "Why should we help them?"

Rice announced a $40 million contribution to United Nations relief for Palestinian refugees, a gesture to the 1.5 million Palestinians living in increasingly desperate conditions in Gaza.

"We're not going to abandon the Palestinians who are living in Gaza," Rice told reporters.