Commentary: Action Needed to Bolster Abbas

"What you're watching is a process unfolding where people are becoming more trustworthy," the president said.

On her trip to the Middle East, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice promised to play an active role in the peace process and talked common sense to both Israelis and Palestinians. But she also tried to lower expectations and stressed the primary role of regional actors themselves. The Bush administration appears to be mainly concerned about confidence-building measures between the antagonists and security, not plunging fully into high-level, shuttle diplomacy.

But if history serves as a guide, no major progress could be achieved in Israeli-Palestinian peace-making without active engagement by the president and his senior aides. The weight of the presidency is vital to a breakthrough there.

Abbas cannot go home empty-handed and negotiate with Hamas and Jihad for a permanent cease-fire. Public opinion polls show clearly that Palestinians do support Hamas and Jihad's armed campaign against Israeli military occupation. Abbas has to convince Palestinian public opinion that his vision and path will ultimately bring peace and independence, not Hamas or Jihad's.

It is crucial that Israel act now to release Palestinian prisoners (who number around 8,000), withdraw its troops from Palestinian cities and towns, and begin to dismantle settlements on the West Bank. A viable peace settlement is the safest way to marginalize Hamas and Jihad and ensure Israeli security in the longer term.

Achieving a breakthrough on the Palestinian-Israeli track will likely reduce tensions in Iraq and the region as well as hammer a deadly nail in the coffin of extremism and "bin Ladenism."

Fawaz Gerges, an ABC News analyst, holds the Christian A. Johnson chair in Middle East and International Affairs at Sarah Lawrence College in New York and is the author of the forthcoming "The Jihadists: Unholy Warriors" (Harcourt Press).