Yasser Arafat has long claimed to condemn attacks against Israeli civilians, and that he can’t control the groups launching the attacks. Israel has long claimed the opposite: that Arafat plans, funds, and approves of terrorism, and that he can switch it on and off like a light switch.
Here’s more evidence that Israel is right about Arafat:
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) – The Palestinian leadership has called for an end to attacks against Israeli civilians in the two weeks before Israeli elections, but an Israeli official Saturday rejected the gesture as inadequate.
[ . . . ]
The Palestinian Authority statement, released late Friday, was a rare reference to Israel’s Jan. 28 elections. It called on Palestinians “to show their restraint and not to allow themselves to be dragged along by the Israeli elections and (Israeli) provocation.” It added, “The attacks on civilians cause great harm to our cause, in public opinion, for Israeli peace supporters, and at the international level.”
As in the past, the statement did not define “civilians.” Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and others have often condemned suicide bomb attacks inside Israel, but they rarely speak out against attacks against Israeli settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinians consider them trespassers on land they claim for a state.
No control over the attacks, huh Arafat? So what makes you think you can call a two-week ceasefire?
What’s clear is that the extremist groups are just doing Arafat’s dirty work for him. Arafat has never been and will never be a legitimate partner for peace.
From Ha’aretz’s english site:
(From the ticker):
Hamas` Sheikh Yassin: PA cooperated in attacks on Israelis; suicide bombings must continue
Proof enough?
Hey Jaws,
Looks like your man Sharon, the brave commander of Unit 101, is on the ropes and fighting for his political life amidst talk of political dirty dealings, fraud, bribery, vote-buying, breach of trust and corruption.
Guess you’d better get used to hearing “Prime Minister Amram Mitzna…” when you turn on the news.
By the way,
Whatever happened to that “Iraq is transporting its WMD to Syria” story?
Guess nobody bought it.
Syria for years has been helping Iraq
sell its oil. I’m sure that is not the
only help Syria has given Iraq.
I never said I was a Sharon backer. I’m not his biggest fan…but compared to Mitzna, I’d take him in an instant.
Both Likud and Labor have long had histories of corruption, so this isn’t that big of news in one sense. Rabin had to resign as PM (his first time in office) in light of a finance issue (I think his wife violated the banking laws). Now apparently Labor is being investigated for something…..such is politics. Just because someone is a good military leader doesn’t mean he is a good politician (although sharon’s image as that military leader helps him politically).
As for syria and Iraq…what about that “explosion” a week or two ago in Lebanon? Estimates put it at about 1 ton of explosives….I wonder where Hizbullah got that from?
Oh and as for Arafat and Hamas:
The Palestinian Authority, also an accomplice to terror
“The PA itself supports the Jihad activities and the suicide attacks, whilst at the same time it requests us [Hamas] to put a stop to them. We are often opposed to the President [Arafat] and those who want us to stop our struggle and instead to concentrate on popular demonstrations against the Zionist enemy. We force ourselves to tighten the ranks and to solve our problems with the President [Arafat] and the Authority [PA] through dialogue, and without having to resort to violence. We have not forgotten that the PA has to face an enormous amount of Israeli-American Pressure”
(translation of arabic: http://www.idf.il/newsite/english/0112-5.stm)