Word: arafats
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Rabin was already frustrated by persistent militant attacks despite Israel's / withdrawal from the self-rule zones in the Gaza Strip and Jericho last May. Islamic extremists, who oppose Arafat's peace agreement with Israel and hope to sabotage it through violence, are concentrated in the Strip and use the newly autonomous area as a sanctuary. Says a Hamas activist in Gaza City: "Before, the Israeli army would chase our fighters, besiege their hideouts and catch them. Now those fighting the jihad can attack and then go back to their homes." Arafat's administration has been reluctant to confront...
Rabin insisted that his information made it clear that Waxman was being held in Gaza, over which Arafat was responsible. And so the Israeli Prime Minister made the kidnapping an issue of Arafat's authority and good faith and held the Palestinian leader "completely responsible" for the soldier's well-being. A further expansion of Palestinian self-rule, he said, rested on Waxman's safe release. Even as Israel's leader congratulated his Palestinian counterpart on the Nobel Prize, he issued a warning: "If there will not be security, there will also not be peace...
...Bank. To highlight the threat, Rabin withdrew his delegation from talks in Cairo aimed at broadening self-rule. This was a marked departure for the Israeli leader, who previously had insisted on keeping negotiations going despite violence between the parties. U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher joined in pressuring Arafat, not only in the name of peace but for the sake of an American life. Arafat was motivated himself by a sense that the hostage taking was intended by Hamas to embarrass...
...press conference later that night, Rabin continued to press his point that Arafat must assume responsibility for controlling Hamas violence. "We know the activities of these murderers were directed from Gaza," Rabin said. "The peace process depends upon how well the Palestinian authority prevents the Gaza Strip from becoming a haven for terrorists...
...Even Arafat's own ministers acknowledge that the Palestinian authority could do more to rein in Hamas. Said one: "We have functioned in a way that gives the Israelis a reason not to trust us and Hamas no reason to fear us." Still, the failure of Israel's efforts to save Waxman underscores how difficult that chore is. Despite its superior firepower, an extensive intelligence network and a willingness to use draconian measures, the Israeli army was never able to subdue Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Now it expects Arafat's far less sophisticated force to achieve that goal...