The Next Palestinian Leader?

Barry Rubin writes about Muhammad Ghaneim: "This is not the man to choose if your top priorities are making peace with Israel and maintaining good relations with the West. He is the man you would choose if you intend to reject compromise, rebuild links to Syria and Hamas, and perhaps return to armed struggle." Rubin also thinks that Ghaneim is an "Islamist," a vague label that Rubin has tried to tag (unconvincingly, in my view) on Yasir Arafat.

Ghaneim is definitely from the Fatah old school, which does not incline him to new ways of thinking. So much the worse for the peace process. But is Rubin really so naive as to believe a new, "moderate" Palestinian leadership will come to the fore as long as the number of settlers continues to double every ten years?