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Palestinian State of Nature

(Washington Post) Richard Cohen - * Last week in Gaza, former head of Palestinian military intelligence Moussa Arafat (Yasser's cousin) was dragged out into the street and shot. * The killing says more about the prospects for peace in the region than do assurances that everything is going just fine. * Doesn't it say something troubling about a political entity (the Palestinian Authority) that two armed groups could battle for half an hour and not one of the PA's security forces could get to the scene and intervene? This is what passes for Palestine. * As a society, the Palestinians have exalted suicide bombings, tolerated senseless and atrocious terrorism, and for years they apathetically supported the kleptomaniacal Yasser Arafat, whose peace plan consisted, basically, of waiting for Israel to evaporate. * Gaza is lawless. Kidnappings are common. Armed gangs roam the streets. Under these conditions, it will be impossible for the Palestinians to secure outside investors. Who's going to put money in a business when there's virtually no rule of law? * The murder of Moussa Arafat and the ordinary lawlessness of Gaza show that when it comes to enemies, Palestinians don't need Israel. They do just fine on their own.
2005-09-13 00:00:00
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