Why a Post-Arafat Palestine Will Mean More of the Same

(Jewish World Review)Yossi Klein Halevi - The new Palestinian leadership that succeeds Arafat almost certainly won't deliver on Israel's nonnegotiable demands for renewing peace talks: disarming terrorists and dismantling their operational command. True, former Palestinian prime minister Abbas has called the intifada a tactical, if not a moral, mistake. But the post-Arafat PA won't disarm Hamas and Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The Oslo process failed because Palestinian society denies the legitimacy of a Jewish state in any borders. Beyond controlling terrorism, the real challenge of the post-Arafat era will be nurturing a changed Palestinian debate over Israel's legitimacy. So far, aside from tactical shifts, Arafat's heirs show little sign of withdrawing from maximalist Palestinian dreams.


2004-11-11 00:00:00

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