Word: arafats
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...seen this movie before: Israel surrounds what?s left of Yasser Arafat?s battered compound and assumes a menacing posture, vowing to act against him for failing to end terror attacks; masses of Palestinians, regardless of what they may think of Arafat?s stewardship, rally to their elected president and national icon; moderate Arab leaders warn of a regional cataclysm if the Israelis carry out their threat; and U.S. officials suggest politely but firmly that Arafat?s physical ouster would be ?unhelpful.? But each rerun of the ?Rumble in Ramallah? appears to simply confirm the aging Palestinian leader?s centrality...
...Following the death of 15 Israelis in a brace of Hamas suicide bombings Tuesday, the Israeli cabinet on Thursday branded Arafat an obstacle that Israel would remove ?in a manner, and at a time, of its choosing." The Israeli Defense Force was even mandated to prepare plans for that removal, but no date was set. And Israeli media reported that in light of U.S. opposition to Israel harming or removing Arafat, the cabinet?s decision was simply an in-principle one that would not be implemented right now. For Arafat, however, the latest Israeli threat proved to be an unlikely...
...arguments for restraint on Arafat are well known in Israel, all the way up to Sharon?s cabinet. Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky wrote in Haaretz on Tuesday that "We must face the simple truth: Arafat has unsurpassed stature in Palestinian society. Palestinians view him as a national hero. And since Arafat's strength is sustained by his opposition to Israel, his exile would only fortify his position." An exiled Arafat would retain the leadership of the Palestinian national movement, thereby rendering redundant the Palestinian Authority, which would be unlikely to survive his departure. Simply put, no one would be willing...
...Israelis? part, the renewed moves against Arafat express the frustration at their inability to break out of a strategic logjam that has made commonplace the spectacle of broken, bloodied bodies on the streets of Israel?s cities despite the best efforts of its military to kill the commanders and operatives of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the al-Aqsa Martyr?s Brigade. Some argue that Arafat is the terror kingpin, that the whole Oslo enterprise was a tragic mistake that Israel now has an opportunity to rectify by turning back the clock 12 years. Others see him a cynical power broker...
...simply restoring the equilibrium of the recent past - two governments at least rhetorically committed to implementing President Bush?s ?roadmap? initiative, even if real progress was negligible - may no longer be possible. That?s because Arafat has carefully raised the stakes: Whereas previously, the U.S. had insisted that he not be harmed but also that he be isolated and ignored, the Palestinian leader has effectively junked that strategy by bringing down Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas - the man designated by Washington and Israel to succeed Arafat - and reasserting his dominance in the PA. His new prime minister-designate Ahmed Qureia warned...