(Ha'aretz) Ze'ev Schiff - As long as the terror attacks continue, the reform program for the Palestinian Authority and its security apparatus will remain a virtual one. The whole debate over whether there will be four or five branches of a restructured Palestinian security service is meaningless. What is key is the elimination of all of the armed militias, from Hamas to the Islamic Jihad to the Al Aqsa Brigades. This is the moment of truth for the moderate and responsible Arab regimes: They have to move to restrain Yasser Arafat. He is undermining the Saudi peace initiative and the agreements reached between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia on this front.
2002-06-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive