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< < Back to Start of Article He Confronts Radicals to Bolster Position
JERUSALEM Yasser Arafat has taken a gamble, confronting a radical Palestinian crowd in a bid to shore up his own position and assert his international credibility as the possible leader of a Palestinian state.
.
For the first time in years, Mr. Arafat's security forces used deadly force against Palestinians on Monday to suppress demonstrators who were declaring support for Osama bin Laden. In a cloud of tear gas and a hail of bullets, two Palestinians - one of them only 13 - were slain. Another was close to death.
.
It was the starkest evidence to date that the terrorist attacks on the United States had dented the entrenched thinking of the enemies in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and created a new chance for peace while causing a spike in violence.
.
Many Palestinians sympathize with Mr. bin Laden regardless of whether they supported the attacks on the United States. They say he is a fellow Muslim, accused on trumped-up evidence out of a secret desire by the United States to assault Afghanistan.
.
They say Americans react only to their own suffering and economic interests and will make no effort, much less war, to provide other peoples with enduring freedom.
.
Mr. Arafat knows this bitterness better than anyone. For years, he has deftly capitalized on it. And on Monday he took brutal measures against the people of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to stop them from expressing it.
.
In the Gulf War in 1991, Mr. Arafat lost international support after backing Iraq's president, Saddam Hussein. On Sept. 11, some Palestinians were filmed celebrating the attacks and Mr. Arafat was once again given a glimpse of the abyss, of life as an international pariah.
.
Turning his back on this possibility, Mr. Arafat opted to preserve his links with Western governments while sending a clear message to radical Palestinian factions, some of whom threaten his authority, that the time had come to rein in their agitation, at least for now.
.
The message he wanted to send out was the one that the Bush administration wanted to hear. As Mr. Arafat himself stayed silent, his spokesman delivered it in response to Mr. bin Laden's televised attempt Sunday to rally support by invoking the Palestinian cause.
.
The spokesman, Yasser Abed Rabbo, said that what Mr. bin Laden called crimes against Palestinians could not justify killing civilians in New York. There was wriggle room left even in that statement: Mr. Abed Rabbo did not say Mr. bin Laden was behind the attacks.
.
Regarding the air strikes in Afghanistan, Mr. Abed Rabbo said Mr. Arafat was waiting to develop a joint statement with other Arab and Muslim foreign ministers. But a few hours later, Mr. Arafat's guns, turned on supporters of Mr. bin Laden, were more explicit.
.
Mr. Arafat's calculation appears to be that most Palestinians, even if they sympathize with Mr. bin Laden, will accept the police action Monday as necessary.
.
"There is a Palestinian political state of maturation," said Ziad Abu Amir, a political scientist who heads a political committee of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
.
Mr. Abu Amir noted that Mr. Arafat, Mr. bin Laden and President George W. Bush had one thing in common: All have expressed sympathy for the Palestinian plight - some far more recently than others - in hopes of generating Arab support.
.
But Palestinians are jaded when it comes to low-cost compassion.
.
"Over one year of intifada and Palestinian resistance," Mr. Abu Amir said, "people saw a level of Arab or Islamic intervention or support that was below expectations."
.
This fact inevitably makes Mr. bin Laden's appeal to the masses more attractive.
.
The Israelis have been pushing Mr. Arafat to arrest militant Palestinian leaders to demonstrate a commitment to the peace process. For the most part, he has resisted. But now it seems that his hand may be forced.
.He Confronts Radicals to Bolster Position
JERUSALEM Yasser Arafat has taken a gamble, confronting a radical Palestinian crowd in a bid to shore up his own position and assert his international credibility as the possible leader of a Palestinian state.
.
For the first time in years, Mr. Arafat's security forces used deadly force against Palestinians on Monday to suppress demonstrators who were declaring support for Osama bin Laden. In a cloud of tear gas and a hail of bullets, two Palestinians - one of them only 13 - were slain. Another was close to death.
.
It was the starkest evidence to date that the terrorist attacks on the United States had dented the entrenched thinking of the enemies in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and created a new chance for peace while causing a spike in violence.
.
Many Palestinians sympathize with Mr. bin Laden regardless of whether they supported the attacks on the United States. They say he is a fellow Muslim, accused on trumped-up evidence out of a secret desire by the United States to assault Afghanistan.
.
They say Americans react only to their own suffering and economic interests and will make no effort, much less war, to provide other peoples with enduring freedom.
.
Mr. Arafat knows this bitterness better than anyone. For years, he has deftly capitalized on it. And on Monday he took brutal measures against the people of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to stop them from expressing it.
.
In the Gulf War in 1991, Mr. Arafat lost international support after backing Iraq's president, Saddam Hussein. On Sept. 11, some Palestinians were filmed celebrating the attacks and Mr. Arafat was once again given a glimpse of the abyss, of life as an international pariah.
.
Turning his back on this possibility, Mr. Arafat opted to preserve his links with Western governments while sending a clear message to radical Palestinian factions, some of whom threaten his authority, that the time had come to rein in their agitation, at least for now.
.
The message he wanted to send out was the one that the Bush administration wanted to hear. As Mr. Arafat himself stayed silent, his spokesman delivered it in response to Mr. bin Laden's televised attempt Sunday to rally support by invoking the Palestinian cause.
.
The spokesman, Yasser Abed Rabbo, said that what Mr. bin Laden called crimes against Palestinians could not justify killing civilians in New York. There was wriggle room left even in that statement: Mr. Abed Rabbo did not say Mr. bin Laden was behind the attacks.
.
Regarding the air strikes in Afghanistan, Mr. Abed Rabbo said Mr. Arafat was waiting to develop a joint statement with other Arab and Muslim foreign ministers. But a few hours later, Mr. Arafat's guns, turned on supporters of Mr. bin Laden, were more explicit.
.
Mr. Arafat's calculation appears to be that most Palestinians, even if they sympathize with Mr. bin Laden, will accept the police action Monday as necessary.
.
"There is a Palestinian political state of maturation," said Ziad Abu Amir, a political scientist who heads a political committee of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
.
Mr. Abu Amir noted that Mr. Arafat, Mr. bin Laden and President George W. Bush had one thing in common: All have expressed sympathy for the Palestinian plight - some far more recently than others - in hopes of generating Arab support.
.
But Palestinians are jaded when it comes to low-cost compassion.
.
"Over one year of intifada and Palestinian resistance," Mr. Abu Amir said, "people saw a level of Arab or Islamic intervention or support that was below expectations."
.
This fact inevitably makes Mr. bin Laden's appeal to the masses more attractive.
.
The Israelis have been pushing Mr. Arafat to arrest militant Palestinian leaders to demonstrate a commitment to the peace process. For the most part, he has resisted. But now it seems that his hand may be forced.
.He Confronts Radicals to Bolster Position
JERUSALEM Yasser Arafat has taken a gamble, confronting a radical Palestinian crowd in a bid to shore up his own position and assert his international credibility as the possible leader of a Palestinian state.
.
For the first time in years, Mr. Arafat's security forces used deadly force against Palestinians on Monday to suppress demonstrators who were declaring support for Osama bin Laden. In a cloud of tear gas and a hail of bullets, two Palestinians - one of them only 13 - were slain. Another was close to death.
.
It was the starkest evidence to date that the terrorist attacks on the United States had dented the entrenched thinking of the enemies in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and created a new chance for peace while causing a spike in violence.
.
Many Palestinians sympathize with Mr. bin Laden regardless of whether they supported the attacks on the United States. They say he is a fellow Muslim, accused on trumped-up evidence out of a secret desire by the United States to assault Afghanistan.
.
They say Americans react only to their own suffering and economic interests and will make no effort, much less war, to provide other peoples with enduring freedom.
.
Mr. Arafat knows this bitterness better than anyone. For years, he has deftly capitalized on it. And on Monday he took brutal measures against the people of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to stop them from expressing it.
.
In the Gulf War in 1991, Mr. Arafat lost international support after backing Iraq's president, Saddam Hussein. On Sept. 11, some Palestinians were filmed celebrating the attacks and Mr. Arafat was once again given a glimpse of the abyss, of life as an international pariah.
.
Turning his back on this possibility, Mr. Arafat opted to preserve his links with Western governments while sending a clear message to radical Palestinian factions, some of whom threaten his authority, that the time had come to rein in their agitation, at least for now.
.
The message he wanted to send out was the one that the Bush administration wanted to hear. As Mr. Arafat himself stayed silent, his spokesman delivered it in response to Mr. bin Laden's televised attempt Sunday to rally support by invoking the Palestinian cause.
.
The spokesman, Yasser Abed Rabbo, said that what Mr. bin Laden called crimes against Palestinians could not justify killing civilians in New York. There was wriggle room left even in that statement: Mr. Abed Rabbo did not say Mr. bin Laden was behind the attacks.
.
Regarding the air strikes in Afghanistan, Mr. Abed Rabbo said Mr. Arafat was waiting to develop a joint statement with other Arab and Muslim foreign ministers. But a few hours later, Mr. Arafat's guns, turned on supporters of Mr. bin Laden, were more explicit.
.
Mr. Arafat's calculation appears to be that most Palestinians, even if they sympathize with Mr. bin Laden, will accept the police action Monday as necessary.
.
"There is a Palestinian political state of maturation," said Ziad Abu Amir, a political scientist who heads a political committee of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
.
Mr. Abu Amir noted that Mr. Arafat, Mr. bin Laden and President George W. Bush had one thing in common: All have expressed sympathy for the Palestinian plight - some far more recently than others - in hopes of generating Arab support.
.
But Palestinians are jaded when it comes to low-cost compassion.
.
"Over one year of intifada and Palestinian resistance," Mr. Abu Amir said, "people saw a level of Arab or Islamic intervention or support that was below expectations."
.
This fact inevitably makes Mr. bin Laden's appeal to the masses more attractive.
.
The Israelis have been pushing Mr. Arafat to arrest militant Palestinian leaders to demonstrate a commitment to the peace process. For the most part, he has resisted. But now it seems that his hand may be forced. |
