Word: netanyahu
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...Jirbawi, a political scientist at Bir-Zeit University in the West Bank, said, "Scratch the surface, and you find a state of anger." Palestinians were in despair over the paralysis in the peace process brought on by the election in May of Israel's hard-line Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Still, the ferocity of the convulsion shocked even its forecasters. Said a captain in Israel's border police: "This is our very worst scenario come true...
...damp it down. Though the disturbances continued into Saturday in a handful of places, Palestinian police by then were, for the most part, keeping the mobs from engaging the Israelis. Meanwhile, American officials frenetically tried to find diplomatic solutions to restart the peace process, including negotiations for a Netanyahu-Arafat summit...
...happened, the Israelis were actually the first to get it from the Palestinian masses, who are incensed by Netanyahu's blatant foot-dragging in the peace process. His predecessor, Labor's Shimon Peres, was also regarded as excessively tough. But, notes Ali Jirbawi, "at least with Peres there was a sense that we were moving. Slowly, yes, but the dream of an independent Palestine was still alive. What is dangerous about Netanyahu is that he shattered this dream...
...Labor government had been edging toward acceptance of a Palestinian state, albeit one with restricted powers and circumscribed borders. Netanyahu, however, is dead set against that; if he has his way, autonomy is all the Palestinians will ever achieve. Neither his reluctant summit with Arafat last month nor the subsequent follow-up meetings produced any progress toward the expansion of Palestinian authority in the West Bank promised in the Oslo accords. Says a senior Western diplomat in Israel: "The Israelis talk the talk, but nothing changes on the ground." Adds Khaled al-Qidrah, Arafat's attorney-general: "The behavior...
...stalemate has been exacerbated by profound economic distress in the territories. For seven months, Israel, in response to terror attacks, has curtailed the number of Arab day laborers allowed to enter Israel, contributing to a 50% Palestinian unemployment rate. Netanyahu recently agreed to increase the permits for day laborers by 18,000 to 50,000. Still, economic growth is impeded by Israeli restrictions. Lengthy security checks mean few Palestinian goods reach the Israeli market, even as Israeli products flow freely through the crossing points. Palestinian trade with Jordan and Egypt is restricted, also for security reasons, as is commerce between...