Is It Too Soon To Hope?

When Mahmoud Abbas was elected as the new Palestinian leader, I put forth the opinion that he would only be able to do his people any good if he was willing to actually police those Palestinians who were using terror and acts of extreme (military?) violence to make their points. Firing rockets during cease-fires, sending teenagers with explosives strapped to their bodies, I'm of the opinion that these activities don't foster peace.

Today, over on BBC News, there's a piece that depicts Abbas as doing exactly what I was looking for:

Our correspondent says he has always been very reluctant to use force, but pressure to take decisive action grew after the Israeli woman was killed by a missile fired from Gaza.

His administration has now said that it is determined to take firm measures to impose order.

...

Soon after the rocket attacks, Palestinian police, reportedly acting on orders to stop further rocket fire, clashed with Hamas members in northern Gaza.

It is my dearest wish that the Palestinian people will come to realize that killing each other is not their goal, and that this will bring them to a place where killing anyone seems like less of an option.

Whether or not it's too soon, I'm going to allow myself to hope, today.