MANIACS do not negotiate. They pretend as if they do. They sign agreements that they never intend to keep. The bottom line, however, is that cooperation with terrorists is futile.
President Bill Clinton should not treat the Palestinians, led by Yasser Arafat, as a recognized state. Instead we should see Arafat for what he is - an international terrorist. We should therefore stand by Israel unflinchingly in all future Middle East diplomacy.
The United States, until the presidency of George Bush, considered Arafat an international terrorist. That is, for over 20 years Arafat was not an international leader, but an international nuisance. The U.S. does not work with terrorists under any circumstance as a matter of formal policy. So when Bush wanted to work with Arafat, the administration had to call Arafat by a different name. For the past 10 years, as a consequence, he has been recognized and treated as a leader of a sovereign community.
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But for the past 10 years, Arafat has acted not as an international leader conferred with such authority, but as a terrorist.
The Palestinian state is a misnomer. While the Palestinians have a population, some territory and a government - though a very fractured one - they cannot meet one final requirement as set by the United Nations for statehood: the ability to enter into and abide by agreements.
The most salient example of this is the Oslo Accords of 1993, signed by Arafat. In exchange for sizeable concessions of land and the right of Palestinian return to Jerusalem, the Palestinian Authority didn't offer much other than a promise to cease the propagation of anti-Semitic messages. The anti-Semitism continues, full-force. Arab newspapers gratuitously libel Jews with platitudes such as "The Jewish people are deceitful." The violence associated with the vast anti-Semitism continues unabated.
As recently as Thursday, a man associated with the Islamic Jihad -- a militant anti-Israel group - detonated a bomb on his person killing himself and wounding an Israeli soldier. It is clear the Islamic Jihad group was behind this. They said that this event comes as little surprise, pointing the finger at Israel for other violence that is occurring. Arafat can stop this by forcefully condemning the violence, but he has not done so. Nor will he, because he has declared that Jerusalem will be "ours, ours, ours."
The Palestinian authority proves that it cannot be treated as a state because it is so insensible. Israel over the course of its 52 years of existence has fought six wars, and has been involved in many skirmishes. Given Israel's superior army and international support, it has never lost. Israel, with a mere one-sixth of the land in the Middle East and an obvious military advantage, agreed to share portions of such vital and strategic land as the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights for the uncertain and elusive promise of peace with a group that has a reputation for terrorism. This is proof of Israel's resolve to settle these problems once and for all. But Arafat's unwillingness or inability to stand by such agreements where the cards are so heavily stacked in his favor proves him indelibly senseless. For this reason, Palestinian statehood is pure fiction.
Since Arafat cannot be viewed as the leader of a legitimate state, there is no reason to work with him to secure peace unless working with him could prove worthwhile. The recent weeks indicate that these attempts at peace won't work. Clinton has invested a huge amount of time and effort in attempting to be an honest broker and solve the problem. According to columnist George F. Will, Clinton has hosted Arafat more than any other foreign leader. It's high time we realize that an honest broker can't overcome a dishonest charlatan at the negotiation table. Clinton should kick Arafat out of his good graces because Arafat has stabbed him in the back far too many times.
Some things may be worth fighting for. Israel's stability and dominance in the Middle East is one such thing. Until this happens, the Palestinian Authority is going to do what bullies do --- terrorize and destroy. Empty promises from Arafat are just that, empty.
In 1973, much of the Arab world invaded and attacked Israel on the holiest day of the year - Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). Despite the surprise and impotence of the Israeli military on this day, Israel mobilized and quickly defeated the bellicose Arabs, and took much of the land that is today in contention. Land today which successive Prime Ministers of Israel, most notably Ehud Barak, have been willing to forfeit for peace. There is a stinging irony, therefore, in Arafat claiming that Israel is to blame for the late aggression.
When all is said and done, Israel is an ally. The non-state terrorist Palestinian authority is a menace. Let's all stop pretending otherwise.
(Jeffrey Eisenberg's column appears Mondays in The Cavalier Daily.)
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