Word: jihadization
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Reining in the militants" in Hebron is something of a tall order for Arafat. The leading force in the intifada on the ground today, in Hebron and everywhere else, is not Islamic Jihad or Hamas, but his own Fatah organization. That may make it sound simple enough: Just order the boys to stop firing at Israelis, and go out and arrest a few Islamists, and we'll have a cease-fire. But it's no longer that simple. The Palestinian street shows little enthusiasm for a cease-fire; opinion polls find that two out of three Palestinians support suicide bombings...
...explosive that can detonate accidentally, even if dropped on the floor. Meanwhile, Palestinian sources say, Arafat is trying to avoid any further violence in the region--though for his own political reasons, not from any fresh resolve for peace. Each terror incident gives more strength to the Islamists of Jihad and Hamas, undermining Arafat's tenuous authority. Diplomatic sources tell TIME that the groups' growing strength has spurred Egypt to try to initiate secret contacts between the U.S. and Hamas but that Hamas rejected the overture...
...heat on the PA will succeed where negotiation has failed in putting an end to attacks on Israelis. And yet those attacks show no sign of abating, as Israel's every raid simply grows the pool of young Palestinians willing to volunteer as suicide bombers for Hamas or Islamic Jihad, while their terror strikes carry overwhelming approval on the Palestinian streets...
...that may be a moot point, right now, because the current sentiment on the Palestinian street severely limits his ability to act against the militants, even if he chooses to. His own Fatah organization has formally abandoned the cease-fire and resumed its grassroots alliance with Hamas and Islamic Jihad in order to fight the Israelis. As much as they're intended to force Arafat to act against Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the most recent Israeli actions may have only succeeded in making it more difficult...
...Israel's actions are intended to force Arafat to act against Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but they've only made it more difficult...