British Palestine

Continuing this series : the British army chief advocated a boycott on Jewish businesses - 'hitting the race where it hurts the most - in their pockets.' This was immediately picked up and used as a propaganda weapon by Irgun.

The bombing of the King David Hotel was 'the first major terrorist act of the 20th century.' A warning was given, as Menachem Begin claimed in 1972, but it was deemed inadequate. In those days, there was no system in place to distinguish hoax calls from genuine. The Zionists also pioneered the technique of the letter bomb.

They regarded their campaign as a success, since it led to an occupying force of 100,000 men from 4,000 kilometers away withdrawing earlier than they would otherwise have done. 

Back to the current situation, as has long been anticipated, Mahmoud Abbas has been confirmed as Fatah's candidate for president of the Palestinian Authority, but not before it was rumoured Friday that Marwan Barghouti would stand as an independent from his prison cell. On Saturday, Barghouti indicated that he would support Abbas' candidature.

How can Mahmoud Abbas overcome crippingly low public support ? A comparison has been made with Golda Meir had less than 2% support before she became Israeli PM. 6 months later, she had over 60% support. 
('From Our Own Correspondent', click on the listen again facility for the World Service edition, then it's towards the end, about 18 minutes in.)

Ironically, the BBC reports that 'The UK can play a key role in helping Israel and the Palestinians achieve a lasting peace', according to Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.