So the new Palestinian cabinet was announced. Ziad Abu `Amr was appointed foreign minister. Al-Arabiya TV reported with a measure of perplexity that he is close to Fath and to Hamas at the same time. They said that it is not clear whether he is with one or the other. Having known him in graduate school, I can help you here. He is neither; he is nothing, really. This is the man who posed as a Marxist when it was trendy in come circles. As soon as he was ready to return back to Palestine, he offered to sell me his entire Lenin collection. He did not want the taint, I felt. Based on what I know of him: let me make this prediction. As a foreign minister, he will make sure to have the best relationship with the Saudi government. I expect him to travel to Saudi Arabia very regularly. You can read my review of his book on Islamic fundamentalism in West Bank and Gaza in a past issue of Journal of Palestine Studies (or maybe Middle East Journal?).