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Palestine: A Change of Direction

(Newsweek) Joshua Hammer - After four years of an armed uprising that is now widely regarded as a catastrophic failure, Palestinian society and legislators are rising up in an open revolt against the leadership—including their once unassailable chairman. Grumblings about corruption, mismanagement and lawlessness in the Palestinian Authority have been heard often in the past. What's different now is the volume of the criticism, the proliferation of the critics and the momentum for fundamental change. Israel's near-defeat of the Palestinian resistance has also stirred demands for reform. Many Palestinians feel exhausted, beaten and skeptical about the logic of continuing the armed struggle. The few active guerrillas in the West Bank admit that attacking Israeli targets has become a near-insurmountable challenge. "The [security] wall has made it almost impossible for us to conduct operations," says Zakaria Zbeida, the leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the Jenin refugee camp.
2004-08-21 00:00:00
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