On the one hand he personally has pretty decent relations with most Arab leaders. He is considered a spiritual leader and has made sure to have good relations with Arab leaders. His connections and good relations have been used a number of times, by him and his people, and by Israel in general to contact and get messages to leaders of countries we dont have formal relations with. I remember when Rav Ovadiah's car was stolen, shortly after Oslo, his people called up Arafat directly and with an hour he got his car back. Rav Ovadiah also recently sent goodwill messages to Hosni Mubarak, president of Egypt, wishing him a quick recovery from his illness.

And on the other hand, last night Rav Ovadiah said during his shiur that Abu Mazel and all the wicked people around him should be destroyed from the world, and Hashem should strike them all down - them and the Palestinians.

Are his good personal relations just tactical? Is Abu Mazen worse than Arafat was?