Word: netanyahu
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...Oslo, the greatest trophy of Arafat's career, is history. The gap in expectations turned out to be too wide for Israelis and Palestinians to close, the peace process itself too flawed to produce a magic solution. Even if Sharon comes and goes, as Barak, Netanyahu, Peres and Rabin did before him, Arafat must discover a new way of dealing with the Israelis. Otherwise, he will never persuade them to give the Palestinians what they want. Many Palestinians believe their fortunes will improve only when Arafat's domination of their affairs ends. "Democracy is needed," says Haider Abdel Shafi...
When hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu took over in 1996, he made Arafat's life miserable. He delayed troop withdrawals and proceeded with construction of Jewish settlements. Later, under Barak, building continued apace. As Israelis became angry with outbreaks of violence and terrorism, ordinary Palestinians too grew disillusioned with the peace process. Palestinians felt Israel would never agree to their genuine independence. Without an end-of-conflict pact in sight, Arafat's place in history was never more on the line. When he signed the Oslo compromise, cries of betrayal arose from the militant Islamic group Hamas and such respected intellectuals...
Even if Sharon finds enough allies in the Knesset, his biggest battle will be trying to keep those allies together. In a sense, that's what put Sharon where he is. Back in December, Sharon faced a potential challenge from former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. If Netanyahu had decided to run, it was clear he would have won the party's backing. In his office in Jerusalem, Netanyahu told a supporter he wouldn't run for Prime Minister unless there were also parliamentary elections. Netanyahu figured that elections would swing the Knesset to the right and give him a better...
That would have been Sharon's fate, too, had Labor stayed out. But both Sharon and Barak have compelling motivations for wanting to make this work: The more popular Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu stayed out of the election only because he believed that a direct vote for prime minister without changing the balance in parliament would produce an unstable and short-lived outcome. He would almost certainly challenge Sharon for the party's nomination, which means Sharon has good reason to make his government last. Barak, too, faces a mounting tide of Labor party discontent with his leadership - he actually...
...Arafat will face a problem dealing with Sharon and the Likud party. Not even Netanyahu represented the true spirit of the Likud, which is that they don't make deals under pressure. In recent years, Palestinians have become accustomed to a "whispering peace." Yossi Beilin has a secret meeting and whispers something in Arafat's ears; Shimon Peres comes for a midnight meeting and quietly says the words Arafat wants to hear. This is not going to happen with the Likud, and they're going to refuse to talk while violence is continuing. So the Palestinians are going to face...