Unconvincing explanations
Ha`aretz Editorial
Tuesday, September 24, 2002 Tishrei 18, 5763 Israel Time: 00:14 (GMT+3)
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The explanation that the government is giving for the decision to demolish the Muqata - the Palestinian Authority official compound in Ramallah - and to isolate Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat in the wake of the murderous terror attacks last week is unconvincing, and it involves the government in contradictions.
The government is contending that by tightening the siege on the Palestinian leader, it aims to reinforce his labeling as someone who is irrelevant to dialogue until he comes to the conclusion that it is best for him to quit the territories and leave it to other people to lead the PA. Another of the government's justifications is its demand to hand over the wanted men who have taken shelter in Arafat's office. This explanation is not believable because the government is not providing evidence that proves a connection between the latest terrorist actions and the involvement of Arafat and the aides who are with him. The organization that took responsibility for last week's terror attacks is the Hamas.
Furthermore, as a result of the operational approach that the government approved for the Israel Defense Forces during the past year, Arafat has lost much of his power and the security organizations that were subordinate to him have been crushed. In this, Israel provided justification for his claim that in his current circumstances he does not have the ability to rein in the terror infrastructure that is operating against Israel. Moreover, Arafat has been effectively neutralized from influence ever since U.S. President George W. Bush disqualified him being considered a member of the community of legitimate leaders; the pressure that the IDF has been applying to him in recent days is not changing his status in this respect. At most, it is capable of forcing him to leave the territories.
Such a development, which is what the government desires, will deepen the lack of belief in its statements. A government that declares its aspiration to get rid of Arafat and does not hesitate to employ considerable force to achieve its end must along the way increase the chance that a new leadership will arise for the Palestinians. The experience of the Sharon government shows that it has not done enough to encourage the forces in Palestinian society that are challenging Arafat's leadership. The Sharon government did not use the relative quiet to make a gesture to the Palestinians and implant in them hope for more positive dialogue with Israel.
The explanation that the IDF action at the Muqata is aimed at capturing wanted men who are there with Arafat is also not convincing. Though it would be better if the IDF got its hands on arch-terrorists, this aspiration is valid at any time and it is difficult to understand why it is now being presented as a direct motivation for demolishing the buildings of the Palestinian administration in Ramallah as a reprisal for the terror attacks of last week; it would have been more logical to have tried to capture the heads of the Hamas in Gaza or to harm them.
Of course the severity of the terror attacks must not be taken lightly, nor should we dismiss the assessment of the situation that holds that Arafat is not taking action to prevent them. However, the choice of the Muqata as a target for reprisal for the latest acts of terror seems problematic: At the meeting at which the government decided to increase the pressure on Arafat in order to get him to leave the territories, it also decided to hobble Sari Nusseibeh, one of the most moderate Palestinian public figures, and to close his office in Jerusalem. Who, then, is the Palestinian with whom Ariel Sharon is prepared to conduct a serious dialogue?
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