Editorial: Arafat’s ludicrous excuses

Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2001 | 8:36 a.m.

On Monday, after the weekend's suicide bombings by Palestinian terrorists that killed 26 people, Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared a war on terrorism. Israeli airstrikes hit Palestinian security forces buildings on Monday, and they were followed up Tuesday by the launching of three missiles that hit just 50 yards away from Yasser Arafat's compound. In light of the atrocities committed by the terrorists, Israel's actions were more than warranted.

But Arafat, in one of his more implausible moments, told CNN that Israel was undermining his attempts to combat terrorism. "They (the Israelis) don't want me to succeed and for this he (Sharon) is escalating his military activities against our people, against our towns, against our cities, against our establishments," Arafat said. "He doesn't want a peace process to start."

Who does Arafat believe will actually buy this nonsense? For starters, Israel simply is responding to bombings that the Hamas terrorist group has taken credit for, attacks that Arafat did nothing to prevent. It also is a joke when Arafat tries to take credit for rounding up 130 members of Islamic Jihad and Hamas following last weekend's terrorism. If the past is any indication, they, too, will be released after a brief stay in the Palestinians' revolving-door prison system, allowing them to once again carry on their terrorism. These arrests are only for show, to try to persuade nations around the world that Arafat believes in peace. Fortunately the White House isn't buying this latest charade. And on Tuesday President Bush called Hamas one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world, as he ordered the freezing of assets of those organizations with ties to Hamas.

Apologists for Arafat, meanwhile, say that he doesn't have control over Hamas or the Islamic Jihad, so he shouldn't be blamed for the actions of those terrorist groups. But for a political leader such an admission is almost as much of an indictment as being accused of directly calling the shots. If Arafat is such a weak leader, how could anyone reach a lasting peace settlement with him when he can't put a lid on terrorism?

Regarding the peace process, last year it was Arafat who turned down a generous offer by then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Shortly after this rejection, terrorism by Palestinians increased again, making the conditions ripe for Barak's defeat and Sharon's election as prime minister. If Arafat were serious about peace, he would have taken Barak up on his offer. Instead, Arafat allowed more terrorism to be unleashed against Israel, violence that has brought the region to the brink of war. Arafat, not Israel's political leadership, is undermining the war on terrorism.