Word: rabin
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...cheering. Compared with the alternative of a Shamir victory, Labor's electoral triumph is such good news for the Middle East peace process that deflating expectations almost seems churlish. Nevertheless, it is clear that attaining a comprehensive peace will be no romp in the garden for Labor leader Yitzhak Rabin when he becomes Prime Minister, even though his promise to accelerate negotiations brings a real commitment -- always lacking in Shamir -- to address the substance of a settlement...
...parties prepare for the next round of talks to get under way in Rome, it is easy to forget just who Rabin is. He is, after all, the former Defense Minister who ordered his army to use "force, strength and blows" to stop the intifadeh. He is the ex-general who, during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, proposed tightening up the siege on Beirut by cutting off food and water to the populace. This reserved, taciturn man is no tender heart, no dove...
Still, the ebullient mood in most capitals reflects optimism that Rabin can make a difference. Despite his record -- or perhaps because of it -- he may be far more able than Shamir to come to terms with the Arabs. He has pledged not only to grant substantial autonomy to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza in the immediate future, but also to give back at least part of the land itself one day. And because of his demonstrated toughness, he is trusted by his compatriots to make a deal that will not sell Israel...
...agreement on autonomy ought to be reasonably easy to reach. While Shamir's government did little to narrow the gap between its modest notions of self-rule and the demands by the Palestinians for a virtually sovereign state, Rabin suggests he will offer a relatively generous deal, giving the Palestinians control over everything but security, foreign affairs, borders and Jewish settlements. The danger is that the Palestinians, flushed with hope, will demand still more. But with Washington in full accord, Rabin could well fulfill his campaign promise to strike a deal within a year...
...move for both Washington and the Palestinians is Rabin's intention to slow the growth of Jewish settlements in the territories. He rejects the all-out freeze that the Palestinians have demanded and the Bush Administration would prefer, but has made plans to abolish financial incentives for building what he calls "political settlements" -- those in populated Palestinian areas that the Labor Party might one day relinquish in a land-for-peace swap...