Word: yasser
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...assassination of Rehavam Zeevi couldn't have come at a worse moment - for Ariel Sharon, for Yasser Arafat, and for President George Bush. The radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said Wednesday it had killed the right-wing defector from Ariel Sharon's cabinet to avenge the assassination of its own leader by Israel earlier this year. But the timing revealed a deeper agenda...
...following the assassination, Sharon warned ominously, "what was before will never be again... Today we are facing a completely different situation." He blamed Yasser Arafat, and vowed to "wage war without mercy on the terrorists" as he convened his security cabinet to discuss a response. The killing will exacerbate pressure on Sharon from the right, forcing him to respond harshly and casting doubt over further relaxation of security measures against the Palestinians in line with efforts to renew negotiations...
...real power, which instead resides with Ayatullah Ali Khamenei. In Syria it seems there is no way out of Hafez Assad's authoritarian legacy. If Saddam Hussein finally falls from power in Iraq, heaven knows who might replace him, so ruthless has he been in suppressing rivals. Yasser Arafat's lack of a mandate has made him unable to make historic decisions in the peace process, so he instead alternates between directions...
...very little has changed in relations between Israelis and Palestinians. Except, perhaps, in the incentives for resuming dialogue, and the disincentives for failing to do so. It is worth remembering, though, that it was not domestic epiphany that led to that historic White House handshake between Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat - the Oslo peace process began, originally, in response to international pressure in the wake of the Gulf War. And in light of the changing world situation, the dependence of both sides on international backing may well eventually force Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table...
...Pressure from Washington, as well as Yasser Arafat's recent attempts to rein in militants and ingratiate himself with the U.S. has also been weighing heavily on Sharon's own unity government. He is reportedly at odds with his foreign minister, Shimon Peres, over whether talks with Arafat should continue. Peres insists that Arafat remains Israel's best hope for finding a Palestinian negotiating partner and that resuming the peace process is of critical importance; Sharon believes Arafat can't be trusted and is resisting allowing any further talks. But while he carries the solid support of most...