Pessimism about Israel and Palestine

Rondi Adamsom visited Israel in July. She has been posting photos and thoughts on her blog since her return. Here is one of the pithiest:

When I was in Israel, what struck me was how many of the officials we met said they believed that Mahmoud Abbas/Abu Mazen was about as good as they could hope for in terms of being a moderate, of achieving some kind of peace with the Palestinians, et cetera. Some even said they believe him to be sincere when he condemns terror. But they also all said they didn't believe he had the necessary support to achieve even a cold peace.

And this is scary.

I mean, first of all, the best we can hope for in a Palestinian leader is a guy whose Ph.D thesis was devoted to defending Holocaust denial? And second, even a man who may sincerely want a better future for the Palestinians will possibly (probably?) be undermined by groups who claim to speak for/care about the Palestinians?