Thursday, December 9, 2004

Arafat's violent legacy

Steve Stalinisky of the Middle East Media Research Institute, writing on Yasser Arafat/a>, says:

"American officials intimately involved in the Oslo Accords now publicly state that more attention should have been paid to the issue of Palestinian incitement, and what the Arabs were saying amongst themselves about peace in Arabic. With Yasser Arafat gone, the U.S. should be paying close attention to his heirs to understand their true intentions."

Some people in the media have taken hold of the idea that now the Arafat is gone there is a real possibility of a peaceful solution to the Palestinian problem. This seems highly unlikely. As this article details, Arafat has passed on an ethos of hate and violence. I wonder if any in the PA truly wants a two-state solution. Some recently have said that Arafat refused the 2000 peace offer because his constituency did not want it (never mind the fact that they are merely echoing his sentiments and embracing his teachings). They posit the image of Arafat the peace keeper (kind of like "Ed Gein, the Preschool teacher"). Who is left to hold back the Palestinians now? There will never be a peaceful solution to the Palestinian problem, because the Palestinians are the problem.

1 comment:

  1. This blog makes learning fun. The allusion to "Ed Gein, the Preschool teacher" caused me to go to wikipedia and i learnt something new.

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