A rchive Date
[ 23-03-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Palestine ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/jacobs.html
Arafat must prove he really wants peace
By MINDELLE JACOBS -- Edmonton Sun
March 23, 2002
The routine, limp denunciations by Yasser Arafat of Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israelis - now virtually a daily occurrence - are becoming increasingly ludicrous.
On Thursday, following the most recent bombing in downtown Jerusalem, which killed three people and maimed dozens more, Arafat was his usual sombre self. "We will take immediate and required steps to put an end to these actions and those who stand behind them," he said.
Well, let's see. Arafat arrests Palestinian militants from time to time but that's about it. The list of what he hasn't done is much longer.
The Palestinian Authority has tens of thousands of security personnel at its disposal. Why, then, haven't there been full-scale raids and searches throughout Palestinian towns and refugee camps to flush out the militants, confiscate weapons and shut down the bomb-making factories?
If Arafat is serious about establishing a viable state, helping to bring peace to the region and ameliorating the poverty of his people, surely his first priority ought to be cracking down on those who revel in bloodshed. Fighting against your own people can be messy but Arafat must decide whose interests he values more - those of the terrorists or those of his suffering citizens who long for normal lives.
If Arafat simply isn't capable of reining in the militants, one can only conclude that the West Bank and Gaza have become terrorist enclaves. If that's the case, why is Israel painted as the bad guy? No country in the world would turn the other cheek in the face of constant terrorist attacks. States are entitled to defend themselves. Israel should not be expected to act any differently.
It's quite possible, of course, that Arafat just doesn't want to crack down on the terrorists. Just as other Arab dictators mollify their fanatics by giving them certain freedoms, Arafat probably overlooks the murderous deeds of Palestinian radicals in exchange for nominal power. Whatever the case, if Arafat wants to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of the civilized world, he must prove he's sincere about wanting peace.
The hollow condemnations of suicide bombings are wearing thin. If Arafat wants a civilized state, he must stop pandering to the worst elements in human nature. Instead, as well as routing out the bloodthirsty radicals, he has to remove the mullahs who regularly preach lies and hatred in Palestinian mosques.
It is also imperative that Arafat stop the glorification of terrorism in the state-controlled media. It's useless preaching peace to western ears while inciting murder on the home front. Palestinian newspapers and radio broadcasts routinely laud suicide bomber as "heroic martyrs."
The PA daily recently described the two female suicide bombers as heroines. "These actions ... attest to the Palestinian woman's capability to perform successful actions," the article said.
Steeping an entire population in a culture of hatred and inciting people to celebrate suicide and the massacre of civilians is a prescription for a sick society. What kind of state will emerge from such a contaminated atmosphere? A secular, democratic country - the dream of many voiceless Palestinians - or just another tainted, tinpot Arab dictatorship?
Finally, the PA should build a huge bonfire and burn the scores of blatantly anti-Israel schoolbooks the authorities use to poison the minds of the young.
Despite Arafat's recognition of the Jewish state, Israel doesn't exist, according to the curriculum. The hoped-for Palestinian state incorporates all of modern-day Israel. Mind you, the area historically known as Palestine also includes Jordan. But militants aren't sending waves of suicide bombers into Jordan to liberate it for the Palestinians.
The Jordanians, of course, expelled the Palestinian guerrillas three decades ago.
They didn't put up with terrorists and neither should Israel.
Mindelle can be reached by e-mail at mjacobs@edm.sunpub.com Letters to the editor should be sent to letters@edm.sunpub.com.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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