This is the best news I've heard out of the Middle East in quite some time. Reuters' Nidal al-Mughrabi reports in an article entitled "Abbas Calls on Palestinians to Drop Armed Struggle" as such:

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said his people should drop their weapons in the struggle for a state, marking out a clear change of strategy for peace with Israel after Yasser Arafat's death last month.

Abbas, near certain to win a Jan. 9 election to succeed Arafat, made the comments in an interview published on Tuesday, two days after militants showed their muscle with the deadliest attack on Israeli troops since May. Fresh violence killed a Palestinian policeman and a Thai farmer at a Jewish settlement.

Abbas, a U.S.-favored veteran leader had previously shown his opposition to armed attacks in a 4-year-old uprising, but not in such strong terms since Arafat's death on Nov. 11.

For peace to occur in the region, both sides need to renounce violence; it's that simple. If Abbas follows through on his statement by actually clamping down on the terrorists, peace might be attainable.