(New Republic) Martin Peretz - Given the world's being so enthusiastically taken in by Arafat, given the forked tongues of the present Palestinian leadership, one issue for Israel is: Can the Palestinians be trusted? Frankly, it's hard to find many people who'd answer in the affirmative. News has trickled out about details of Condoleezza Rice's demands on Israel, which apparently include that it supply the PA with weapons and ammunition. And who exactly will guarantee that these will not fall into the hands of the legions of habitual terrorists who nestle in the PA's militias or that they won't simply be passed on to the pious murderers of Hamas and Islamic Jihad? The PA has so many times obliged itself to Bill Clinton, George Bush, and the Israelis to stop official incitement against Jews and Israel. But the most grotesque and genocide-provoking hatred for the Jewish people and their state continues to flood the official marketplace of what you might not want to call ideas. I've known this for years, and American journalists have known it for years, but it has gone largely unreported. It's not their kind of story because it ruins the story of Palestinian moderation, to which so many reporters, columnists, and editorialists are wed.
2005-08-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive