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Why the Palestinians Came to the Table

(Washington Post) Charles Krauthammer - Arafat had the power to suppress and literally kill any chances of peace. But his passing would have meant nothing if it had not occurred at a time when the Palestinians finally realized that Arafat's last great gamble, the second intifada, was a disaster. The Palestinians know that Arafat's war left them a legacy of death, corruption, misery, international isolation, and social ruin as the myriad militias he created roam the streets, terrorizing their own people. That is why they elected Mahmoud Abbas. Egypt and Jordan also tired of the intifada. Egypt does not want a terrorist Gaza, and Jordan does not want a terrorist West Bank. Arabs respect toughness. Sharon launched a massive invasion of the Palestinian territories after the Passover massacre of 2002. Western experts and the media were practically unanimous that this would achieve nothing. It is precisely Israel's aggressive counterattack against Palestinian terrorists, coupled with the defensive fence, that has brought us to this point of hope. Will the Palestinians try another intifada in the future? They might. But now they know what they did not know four years ago. The cost will be enormous. And the Israelis do not break. What do the Palestinians now demand from Israel in return for a cease-fire? That Sharon stop hunting down and killing terrorist leaders. Not land for peace. Peace for peace. At some point Hamas and other terrorist groups will surely try to destroy the cease-fire. At that point Abbas - and the Palestinians as a national community - will have to decide whether to take them on. If they do, they will have their state. If they don't, they are back on the road map to ruin.
2005-02-11 00:00:00
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