If Palestinians Want an Independent State, Their New Chairman Must Disarm Terrorists

(Newsday) Emanuele Ottolenghi - Dismantling Palestinian terror networks is not only indispensable if Abbas genuinely wants to establish a democratic Palestinian state, but also unavoidable if Palestinians will want a state at all. Those who advocate a cease-fire in the hope that bringing extremists into the political process will turn them into moderates forget the lessons of history. Extremists must first be disarmed: leaving them with their weapons will only allow them to challenge state power and blackmail elected authorities. That is why a cease-fire is but an illusion, unless Abbas resolves to fight terrorism. The writer teaches Israeli politics at Oxford University and is a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.


2005-01-28 00:00:00

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