Now being reported in the ABCNEWSonline(Australia) Dec 29 9:04 AM (AEDT):

The United States Government has transferred almost $26 million to the Palestinian Authority ahead of next month's presidential election.

Despite this vote of confidence, the head of the Arab League has dismissed expectations that the stalled Middle East peace process is on the verge of recovery.

The funds are to be used for priority projects in Palestinian areas, including electricity, water and sewerage.

The aid is aimed as a financial boost to the incoming government as it begins its new agenda.

But while the US believes the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has created a new atmosphere in the region, Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa does not share the optimism.

He said he did not see a glimmer of hope that a true Palestinian state can be established because Israel, the US, and their allies have not changed their positions.

As said by Danial Pipes, "To give additional money to the Palestinian Arabs now, ahead of their undergoing a change of heart and accepting the permanent existence of the Jewish state of Israel, is a terrible mistake, one that numbingly replicates the errors of the 1990's, Oslo diplomacy. Prematurely rewarding the Palestinian Arabs will again delay the timetable of conciliation."

What do we know about Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee following Yasser Arafat's death - who's supposed to succeed him as Chairman of the Palestinian Authority? From The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center:

Mahmoud Rida Abbas , also known as  Abu Mazen , was born in Safed (the Upper Galilee region) in 1935 to a family of dairy farmers. In 1948, he left for Syria as a refugee. He is a father of three children (Mazen, his eldest son, died a sudden death at the age of 42 several years ago) and has eight grandchildren. He studied law in the University of Damascus, then went on to earn his PhD in the University of Moscow; his doctoral thesis was titled "The Relationship between Nazism and Zionism, 1935-1942".

Having spent most of his life in Arab countries outside of Palestinian territories, he served, among else, in the capacity of manpower resources manager in the civil service of Qatar, where he accumulated significant amounts of money. It was not until 1995, after the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, that he returned to the Palestinian Authority administered territories. He has been living in Ramallah for the past several years. Financially well-off, he keeps two mansions in Gaza and in Ramallah (as well as a house in Morocco). His sons are involved with various financial projects for the Palestinian Authority and have in the past been accused of corruption.

Alongside Yasser Arafat and Farouq Qaddumi, Abu Mazen is one of the founders of the Fatah movement. Since 1964, he has been a member of the movement's Central Committee. He made his way through the ranks of Fatah and the PLO as the successor of murdered seniors. After the murder of Issam Sartawi in 1983, he was appointed in charge of PLO's contacts with Israeli left-wing groups. In 1988, he assumed Abu Jihad's position as head of the Jordanian portfolio and in charge of operations in the OPT ( Occupied Palestinian Territories), the PLO Executive Committee.

For many years, he has also been responsible for the organization's finances. Since 1968, Abu Mazen has served as member of the Palestinian National Council (PNC). In 1996, he was elected Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee, in which capacity he served as Yasser Arafat's substitute in the Executive Committee. Between the years 1996-2002, Abu Mazen served in the position of Chairman of the Central Elections Committee. In addition, he served as head of PLO's negotiations department. On April 29, 2003 he was appointed the first prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, a position from which he resigned five months later in the wake of disagreements with Yasser Arafat. Following Yasser Arafat's death, he was appointed Chairman of the Executive Committee. Nowadays, he is a candidate to succeed Yasser Arafat as Chairman of the Palestinian Authority following the forthcoming elections. He is a supporter of the fundamental, uncompromising views on the permanent settlement that were held by Yasser Arafat and are currently espoused by the majority of the Palestinian leadership.

And this is the man that the U.S. just handed over 26 million dollars to? Danial Pipes hit the nail on the head when he said that this la-la-land thinking ignores two wee problems: One concerns the Palestinian Arabs' widespread intent to destroy Israel, as portrayed by the outpouring of grief for archterrorist Arafat at his funeral, the consistent results of opinion research, and the steady supply of would-be jihadists. The Palestinian Arabs' discovery of inner moderation has yet to commence, to put it mildly.