I listened intently to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's heart-wrenchin g plea for peace among his people. He decried the factional fighting between his own Fatah organisation and the militant Islamist Hamas movement. Turning against one another is not the way to wage the struggle against Israeli oppression. I illustrated the Palestinian president's sad yet despondent eyes. And, his face contorted with depression albeit emboldened with an unmistakable determination.

parent page (21 - 27 December 2006, issue #825)