Arafat Disappoints--Again

In June, a headline in an Egyptian newspaper read: “Arafat accepts Clinton peace plan.” Memo to Arafat: You’re nearly two years too late; Clinton isn’t president any more.

The Palestinian leader was at it again this week, condemning terror attacks on Israeli civilians but backing down from a call on the Palestinian legislature to ban suicide attacks--two weeks after his interior minister, Abdel Razak Yehiyeh, displayed more courage and urged just that.

Arafat’s address to the Palestinian legislative council was his first to that group in 18 months. It wasn’t worth the wait. He equated attacks against Israeli civilians with attacks against Palestinian civilians. But there is no moral equivalence between Israel’s strikes on terrorist leaders that sometimes kill other Palestinians in the area and the suicide bombers who enter a pizza parlor or vegetable market intending to kill and maim as many Israeli men, women and children as possible in order to spread terror.

His speech did contain phrases about wanting to achieve peace with Israel. “Enough of the struggle and bloodshed,” he declared. But he failed to denounce all terror attacks, limiting his condemnation to assaults on civilians.

Last month, Yehiyeh was forthright in proclaiming that suicide attacks violated international law and harmed the cause of the Palestinians. He’s right. Terror bombings have pushed Israelis formerly sympathetic to Palestinians into supporting crackdowns by the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. They also have cost the Palestinians international support.

Palestinians renewed their attacks on Israel nearly two years ago, after Arafat surprised the world by rejecting the peace plan President Clinton had helped the two sides work out at Camp David.

There were further talks at Taba, Egypt, but Arafat again missed an opportunity for substantive negotiations with Israel over withdrawal from lands it has occupied since the 1967 war.

Arafat appointed Yehiyeh interior minister several months ago and ordered him to reorganize the authority’s security services, which are supposed to protect Palestinians and also stop Palestinian terrorists from crossing into Israel to carry out attacks. Israeli troops reoccupied most major Palestinian cities this year after waves of bombings.

Sharon has labeled Arafat “irrelevant” and President Bush has called for new leaders as a condition for establishing a Palestinian state in three years. Arafat is not helping the Palestinian cause by continually missing opportunities for peace and a homeland for his people.