It happened during an interview of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on an Israeli television channel.  Abbas was asked whether he wanted to go back to his boyhood home in Safed, which is now in Israel.  "I want to see Safed," Abbas replied.  "It's my right to see it but not to live there."   For good measure, Abbas added that a future Palestinian state should include only the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. Abbas' remarks set off a firestorm across all parts of Palestinian society.  It was denounced as heresy and treason for seemingly dropping Abbas' own long-time demand of a "right of return" for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to their former homes in Israel.  Of all the issues dividing Israel and the Palestinians, a Palestinian "right of return" is perhaps the toughest nut to crack.  To Israel, it amounts to nothing less than demographic elimination of the Jewish state -- a green light for millions of Palestinians to swamp...(Read Full Post)