by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright June 4, 2001
All Rights Reserved.

ithout helicopters or F-16s, Palestinians delivered another deadly bombing, this time to a trendy seaside disco in Tel Aviv, killing 21 civilians and injuring more than a hundred. Frequented by teenagers, the Hamas suicide bomber packed nails, screws and ball bearings into his plastique, maximizing the shrapnel ripping through Israeli flesh and landing the Palestinian into paradise. Suicide bombings are the primary means by which radical Islamic groups achieve their ends: Liberating Palestine and ending Israeli occupation. Without declaring war, radicals have long battled Israel, despite permitting Arafat to negotiate an end to the 53-year-old conflict. With suicide bombings carefully planned, Israel has been slow, for political reasons, to declare war on the Palestinian Authority. Now, with the latest spate of bombings, Israeli society—and security—has been upended, accomplishing the terrorist’s goal of fear and chaos. “I want to leave this country,” said 17-year-old Uri Abranov, a traumatized Russian immigrant now wanting to bail out. “Israel has hit a new low. How do we know who will be hurt tomorrow?” expressing the gloomy mood pushing Israel to the brink.

       Mowing down innocent youths doesn’t help the Palestinian cause in the eyes of world opinion. All ends don’t justify the means—including bombing nightclubs packed with teenagers. Palestinians lean heavily on painting themselves as meek victims while portraying Israelis as arrogant bullies. Since the Tel Aviv bombing, the boom has been lowered on Arafat and the Palestinian Authority. “There’s almost universal consensus that this has gone too far and now is the time for Arafat to act. This heinous crime was just too much,” said an unnamed administration official. Bowing to pressure, Arafat flip-flopped and vowed to “do all that is possible to achieve an immediate and unconditional, real and effective, cease-fire.” Met with skepticism, “I hope Arafat’s statement is not a trick, since this time he is expected to show results in the field to prove he’s ordered the shooting to stop,” said Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, measuring Arafat’s statements against calls for urgent retaliation. Bracing for the worst, Palestinians are on red alert believing that Israel will strike back.

       For some time, many have questioned Arafat’s ability—or desire—to rein in radical groups like Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. “People are tired of death, killing and destruction but they have reached a point where there is no going back,” remarked Fouad Moughrabi, a well-known academic who’s written extensively on Palestinian society. Sounding an ominous tone, “It is too late to go back to status quo ante, whatever Arafat does,” suggesting that armed struggle is inevitable. When last summer’s Camp David Summit collapsed, concerns were raised that Arafat went too far. Rolling the dice, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak sacrificed his political career when peace talks fizzled. Soon after, Arafat released jailed terrorists and began the new intifada [rebellion]. Hamas—with Arafat’s blessing—recruited a legion of teenage suicide bombers, promising glory far beyond the Kamikazes at Pearl Harbor. Yes, Hamas even promised these impressionable youths sexual euphoria in the afterlife. Instead of negotiating for peace, Arafat changed directions and began exploiting the media to hype Palestinians into believing they were fighting a real war of liberation.

       After signing the Oslo Accords in 1993 and ceding occupied lands, Israel helped arm the Palestinian Authority police force. But once peace talks collapsed, Arafat invited his police force to turn their guns on Israel. Since September 2000, Palestinians have launched more than rocks and Molotov cocktails. Armed struggle is bad enough, but intermittent suicide bombings delivered a punishing blow to Israeli society. Preyed upon unexpectedly, Hamas’ terror campaign accomplished much the same ambush as Pearl Harbor. Unable to defend attacks, the element of surprise made certain that terror would be the outcome of planned suicide bombings. Unlike Pearl Harbor, bombs didn’t fall from the sky and Israelis didn’t feel entitled to declare war, fearing that world opinion would turn against them. Enduring the latest terrorist act, Sharon’s patience—and indeed the whole country—is wearing thin, as Israelis clean their streets of the latest carnage. Going too far, Palestinians now feel the sting of worldwide condemnation, prompting Hamas to publicly join Arafat’s cease-fire.

       Whether bombs fall from the sky or are strapped to the backs of humans, they’re still acts of war. Pushing things to the brink, Palestinians quickly backed off, not, as some would have you believe, because they fear Israeli retaliation but precisely because they dread worldwide condemnation. Standing up to Israel, Arafat can boast he’s wreaked terror on the Jewish state. Returning to the bargaining table, he now claims moral victory to the Arab world. But what’s he accomplished? All the saber-rattling about pan-Arab boycotts and military action won’t go anywhere, especially with moderate regimes, like Egypt and Jordan, who recall vividly the price of war. Looking back to Camp David, Arafat missed a golden opportunity—his latest intifada shattered Israeli trust and set back eventual peace. “The blood boils in us all, enraged by the brutal murder of such young people . . . ,” said Malan Vilnai, a member of Sharon’s Cabinet, expressing the deep mistrust that now kills any meaningful attempt at peace.

       Calling back the dogs, Arafat ordered a truce because he feared growing worldwide condemnation. Taking violence to an obscene level, Palestinians hurt their cause by allowing radicals to dictate practical peace agreements. “There’s almost a universal consensus that this has gone too far and now is the time for Arafat to act. This heinous crime was just too much,” said an unnamed U.S. official, echoing the views of the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, reminding Arafat that if he pushes Israel to war he’ll wind up on his own. Faced with his own survival, Arafat knows just how far he can push before things boomerang. With Hamas now abruptly backing down, it’s abundantly clear that Arafat’s calling the shots. Suggesting otherwise offers convenient excuses but doesn’t match the fact that radical groups follow Arafat’s lead. Escaping the holocaust and forging a verdant paradise out of scorched earth, Israelis also know what it takes to survive. With Sharon at the helm, Arafat badly miscalculated that violence would win him more concessions. Ending the terror won’t assure instant success, but it opens the door to future talks.

About the Author

John M. Curtis is editor of OnlineColumnist.com and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He’s director of a Los Angeles think tank specializing in political consulting and strategic public relations. He’s the author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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