At long last the parties could be moving toward peace after decades of hostility. But that result will only be achieved if Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has the courage and will to recognize the historic breakthrough that can be achieved.

This planned Gaza pullout has been a lesson in leadership. Both good and bad.

On the Israeli side, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been maligned by many people for years, has demonstrated some of the finest qualities of leadership. First, he put forth the idea for the unilateral Israeli pullout in a manner that was creative as well as bold—even though it ran counter to his prior positions. Sharon had been one of the leading architects of Israel’s policy of building settlements close to Arab population centers. About a year ago, he came to the realization that in view of demographic considerations, this policy would undermine the viability of the State of Israel. So he was willing to swallow hard, admit he made a mistake and change direction by one hundred and eighty degrees.

Second, Sharon, facing enormous pressure and legislative maneuvering from many in his own party, skillfully fought the battle in the Israeli parliament. He also mobilized public opinion of the less vocal Israeli majority who favor the pullout. It’s one thing to have an objective. It’s another to be able to achieve it in a democratic country. Even the resignations of top Israeli politicians from the government, including members of Sharon’s party, have not deterred the Prime Minister. Sharon just keeps on rolling toward his announced objective.

Third, Sharon has not wavered in his commitment to use force against any Israeli settlers who refuse to relocate. One cannot overestimate how traumatic it will be for Sharon and for Israeli soldiers to forcefully move and arrest their own citizens or to respond with force against them if that is necessary. Yet no one can doubt that Sharon is prepared to do that if necessary. Realizing this, most of the settlers are unlikely to resist.

On the Palestinian side, thus far Abbas has not demonstrated any of the indicia of real leadership. Ever since Sharon announced the pullout, which is strongly in the Palestinians’ interests, Abbas has known that violence from Palestinian terrorists could disrupt the entire process. Yet, Abbas did very little to restrain the terrorists. They fired rockets into Israel and sent off suicide bombers—one who was successful in Netanya—without sanctions or punishment from Abbas and his security forces.

Quite the contrary. Abbas has followed a policy of appeasement toward Palestinian terrorist groups, notably Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, hoping they would cease their activities. They haven’t. He didn’t have the courage to change.

Second, Abbas hasn’t had the foresight to strengthen Palestinian institutions in order to govern Gaza when the Israelis are gone. He has had months to do this with help and funding from the United States and European nations. Yet he has done little.

Unless Abbas moves quickly, there will a mess in Gaza after the Israeli pullout. The Palestinian government may implode, lawlessness and chaos may prevail.

It’s not too late to avoid these results. But it’s not up to Sharon, Condoleezza Rice or President Bush. The ball is squarely in the hands of Abbas. Either he will act like a real leader and take control, or the Palestinian people will continue to suffer as they did under Arafat.

There is not much cause for optimism. Militant groups, such as Hamas which oppose both Israel and Abbas have grown stronger in recent weeks. To head them off, the United States sent a special envoy, Lieutenant General William Ward, to help shape up the Palestinian Authority Security Services. Thus far, corruption and patronage have thwarted Ward’s efforts.

The immediate issues will be whether Palestinian terrorists attempt to disrupt the Israeli withdrawal, and whether they will invade and loot what Israel leaves behind. Only forceful action by Abbas can head off these potentially disastrous actions.