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February 10, 2012
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Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
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Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
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Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
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Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
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Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
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Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
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January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
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Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Nov. 24, 2004
/ 11 Kislev 5765
If Arafat had been aborted, there would've been a Palestinian state
By
Robert Zelnick
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http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
If Yasser Arafat had died at birth a Palestinian state would today likely be living side by side with a Jewish state, in peace. The Palestinian state would be called Jordan, which claimed and governed with West Bank from the end of the first Arab-Israeli war of 1948 to the Six Day War of 1967.
After that, Arafat took over the Palestine Liberation Organization and quickly began attacking noncombatants. In an era of shattered pride born of humiliating military setback, hijacking airplanes and murdering children in their schools suddenly seemed a worthy national enterprise. By 1974 an Arab League summit proclaimed the PLO "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."
From then on, the Palestinian community bore at least some of the characteristics of nationhood
This was the sole political accomplishment Arafat could reasonably attribute to terrorism. Both before and after this "achievement" terrorism hurt the Palestinian cause, blinded its adherents to reality and, in the end, doomed its mentor to irrelevance. Drafters of "land for peace" plans, roadmaps, election schemes and political reforms all knew nothing could happen with Arafat in control. So they spent their time in frivolity, waiting for him to die.
Let us not ignore the reason for Arafat's failure. It was the brilliant counter-terrorism strategy of the state of Israel. With its existence on the line, the Israelis focused on both the military and political dimensions of the terrorism challenge. They defended their territory with firepower and fences. They gave no succor to states permitting their land to be used as a PLO base of operations.
King Hussein of Jordan was the first to absorb the lesson. He crushed the Palestinian gunslingers in 1970 and they never returned to his kingdom. The Syrians absorbed the lesson. After the October 1973 war, terrorists could still find a home in Syria, but not a launching pad for terrorism. Lebanon was too weak to do the same, so the Israelis expelled the PLO with a bloody 1982 drive to Beirut. Arafat and company were sent packing, all the way to Tunis.
Politically the Israelis were no less steadfast. Throughout the '70s and '80s, they refused to deal with the PLO until its leader publicly renounced terrorism. When he did, they agreed to agree on an end to the conflict. And when Arafat's word turned to suicide bombs and illegal weapons shipped in aboard the Karin A, the Israelis returned to Palestinian towns and villages with a vengeance, teaching residents that they too would pay a price for their "martyrs."
But in a moment of truth at Camp David and, later at Taba, Israel was willing to abandon most settlements while Arafat insisted it embrace as well a form of demographic suicide. He went from the negotiating table to the helm of a mindless Intifada. He died bequeathing his people an identity but not a state. His life should be studied as an object lesson in how terrorism can be defeated.
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Robert Zelnick, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and chairman of the Department of Journalism at Boston University. During a 20-year career with ABC News, Zelnick covered political and congressional affairs for "ABC Morning News,'' "World News Tonight Saturday/Sunday,'' and "This Week.'' Comment by clicking here.
© 2004, Hoover Institution
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services
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