Word: jihadization
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...thing differently. An editorial in the dovish daily Haaretz captures Israel's military-political dilemma right now: "(Military) actions are supposed to increase pressure on Arafat - pressure that is also being applied by Bush, the European Union and other Palestinian leaders - to take action against Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Calibrating the precise dosage of this pressure is not possible. If it is too weak, it is of no use. If there is an overdose, it is liable to bring about the collapse of the PA and to leave Israel facing millions of Palestinians and dozens of organizations and leaders that...
...have for the most part defied Arafat's periodic cease-fire calls and have vowed to continue the intifada despite the diplomatic maneuvering of their national leader. It is at the local level that the structures of Arafat's Fatah coordinate directly with the militants of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and where even Arafat's own rank-and-file reserves the right to conduct armed attacks on Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank and Gaza even when decisions are taken to temporarily suspend attacks inside Israel...
...logical extension of declaring Arafat irrelevant would be to acknowledge that Israel's sustained military campaign to pressure him into taking down Hamas and Islamic Jihad amounts, essentially, to flogging a dead horse. Critics on the right in Israel derided the latest announcements as insufficient, pointing out that most Israeli military action remains largely focused on targets designed to pressure the Palestinian leader into changing his ways...
...Israel's problem is not simply that Arafat won't or can't act decisively against Hamas and Islamic Jihad; it's that Palestinian public opinion right now is overwhelmingly opposed to any such action in pursuit of a cease-fire. A majority of Israelis and Palestinians would agree that Arafat is an authoritarian, deceitful and increasingly unpopular leader of a corrupt administration. But right now any Palestinian leader more responsive and accountable to his base than Arafat is would almost certainly be less, not more inclined to comply with the cease-fire terms currently on offer...
...Arafat's political demise will be welcomed with equal satisfaction by the Israeli right and by Palestinian militants. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have always opposed the Oslo peace process and have done their utmost to sabotage any moves to restore dialogue. Even much of the rank-and-file of Arafat's own Fatah have long-since given up on the potential for diplomacy to secure Palestinian national goals. The strategy of the militants will be to "Lebanize" the conflict, waging a long-term campaign of violence against Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank and Gaza, combined with sending...