Word: palestinians
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Maksoud said the Israelis used the recent Palestinian raid as a pretext for acquisition of land south of the Litani River that Israel has long coveted...
...invasion served other purposes. Maksoud added--to cover up evidence of the internal security failure shown by the Palestinian attack, and to draw attention away from the fact that most of the civilians who were killed in the raid were actually shot by Israeli police in crossfire...
That is not to say that in light of the realities of the Mideast some form of Israeli reprisal would not have been understandable after the brutal, peace-shattering Palestinian terrorist attack. Israel could hardly have been expected to undertake a calm, turn-the-other-cheek response to yet another materialization of a threat they have long encountered...
...Minister Begin believes withdrawal from Lebanon can be used as a bargaining chip to extract concessions from Washington and Cairo, he could well be in for a surprise. The invasion is likely to do nothing except severely set back negotiations and divert attention from the main issues of a Palestinian homeland and the occupied territories...
...should be noted, however, that Israel is not solely to blame for shattering the fragile status-quo. Moreover, the terrorist attack gives some validity to Israeli fears about negotiating with the PLO at this stage. That is not meant to belittle the necessity of establishing a Palestinian homeland on the West Bank. Nor is it intended to imply that an overall settlement at Geneva--taking account of that necessity--is not the ultimate solution to the problem of peace. It does suggest, though, that perhaps the best way to capitalize on the momentum left over from Egyptian President Sadat...