Word: aqsa
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Sharon's showy tour of the Haram al-Sharif, or Temple Mount, one of Islam's holiest places, home of the al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, is what sparked off the intifadeh. A new intifadeh looked like a good bet to Arafat, or else he would not have fanned the flames by unleashing the Tanzim. The 1987-93 uprising he directed against Israel from Tunis was a watershed in Palestinian history. It made Israel start dealing with the P.L.O. "If you are reaching a historic agreement, you need a big shock first," notes an Arafat aide...
...Barak's goose may actually have already been cooked last October, when Israeli police fired on Israeli-Arab youths protesting Sharon's visit to the precincts of Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque - "peace" candidates find it almost impossible to win Israeli elections without the votes of the 1 million-strong Israeli-Arab community, and last year's shootings left that community unwilling to go the polls to save Barak...
...Challenge No. 1: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Washington needs the help of friendly Arab governments, like those in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt. But America's allies are upset by U.S. acquiescence in what they see as Israel's slaughter of Palestinians in the 16-month-old Aqsa intifadeh. The U.S. will try to calm the conflict, but overt cooperation with Arab states will not be easy as long as Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza continues...
...street clashes of the three-month-long Aqsa intifadeh are slowing for now, as Palestinian negotiators sweat through peace talks with Israeli and U.S. officials. But on the streets of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a dirty counterpart to the intifadeh is gathering pace, marked by deceit, ambush and death. In the past two months, Israeli special units have assassinated at least 13 Palestinians like Abu Sway who they believe were involved in attacks against Israel. And Palestinian traitor hunters are also taking a toll. Men like Shahine, accused of collaboration in those attacks, also face death, either...
...deal but Arafat wasn't. Today, Barak has calculated that he can't win re-election unless he has a peace agreement, so he's willing to make more concessions. Believing Arafat now has to show his people some results for the heavy price they've paid during the Aqsa intifadeh, Washington hopes he sees this as his best chance for quick international recognition of the Palestinian state he craves...