That same week, terrorists from Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - who report to Abbas - killed six Israeli civilians at the Karni crossing into Gaza.
But Abbas was hailed as a man of peace.
In 2006, after one year in office, Abbas announced that he would not seek to remain the leader of the Palestinians after his term expires in 2009.
In 2007, Fatah terrorists killed three civilians in a bakery in Eilat.
But Abbas was hailed as a man of peace.
In 2009, Abbas announced that he would extend his term in office for an additional year, in a very controversial move within Palestinian legal circles.;
But he was still hailed as a man of peace.
By 2010, Abbas didn't even bother to pretend that he was allowed to extend his term legally - he just did. And he has remained the president for eight years past his term and eight years after he promised to step down.
In that time he has solidified his hold on the PLO, the PA and Fatah, expelling his enemies and becoming for all intents and purposes, a dictator. He has incited violence directly and indirectly through his media and schools. He has praised terrorists, treated them as heroes and called the dead ones martyrs.
But he is still hailed as a man of peace, by a world that simply looks the other way at the basic facts of his career.