© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com
THURSDAY
AUGUST 16
2001

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is employing a two-pronged strategy to put pressure on Israel, combining escalated violence with diplomatic efforts.

Facing the continued destruction of Palestinian infrastructure and leadership, Arafat hopes to force Israel into choosing between seizing the territories – and risking international isolation – or initiating serious political negotiations.

Arafat has spent this week in urgent diplomatic meetings to discuss the deteriorating situation in Israel and the occupied territories. Arafat met with U.S. officials Aug. 13. He also met with the foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan and with Arab League Chairman Amr Mussa on the sidelines of an emergency Arab summit. Those discussions cover Israel's seizure of Palestinian political offices in Jerusalem last weekend, including Orient House, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, Agence France-Press reported.

Arafat is using the meetings to signal he is willing to negotiate for peace, even as Palestinian militants continue to commit acts of violence in Israel proper. This dual strategy allows the Palestinians to escalate the clashes without appearing to be intractable. With little other leverage to pressure Israel, Arafat is hoping to force an ultimatum on the Sharon government: either retake the territories – and risk international isolation – or resume political negotiations.

From the Israeli standpoint, there is no need for a full-scale invasion because its current policies are succeeding in dismantling the Palestinian leadership. But from the view of the Palestinian Authority, there is a need to pressure Israel because the PA cannot tolerate continued loss of its members through targeted assassinations. By escalating the violence, Arafat heightens the possibility that Israel will be forced to launch a full-scale war and retake the territories in order to ensure its national security.

This escalation resulted in one of the most violent weeks in Israel in recent months. On Aug. 12 a suicide bomber injured 20 people when he detonated explosives at a cafe in the port city of Haifa. Another suicide bomber killed 15 people earlier at a popular pizzeria in central Jerusalem, leading Israel to seize the Orient House and several other Palestinian political offices.

The move touched off even more violence and sparked demonstrations in Jerusalem that resulted in clashes between protesters and Israeli police. Israel remains under a high state of alert. After decades of stalemated diplomacy and months of renewed violence between Israelis and Palestinians, the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon appears to be in the process of launching a massive blow against the Palestinian political infrastructure aimed at decapitating its leadership, destroying key facilities and isolating the Palestinian community. The absence of external constraints against Israel by the United States and regional neighbors may lead Israel to consider expanding this option against Syria and Iraq as well.

The Israeli option will involve a massive military blow against the Palestinian political infrastructure aimed at decapitating its leadership, destroying key facilities and isolating the Palestinian community. It will involve a systematic assault by Israeli special forces aimed at killing key Palestinian leaders and destroying their military infrastructure such as weapons caches and communications facilities. But there is also a chance that Israel may apply this logic to two other longstanding problem areas: the Syrian control over Lebanon and the potential Iraqi military threat against Israel.

On Aug. 13 the Israel government announced that Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres would be permitted to open limited truce talks with the Palestinian leadership although the gesture is unlikely to accomplish much. Peres, a Labor Party leader and well-known dove, won't have the full support of the Sharon government to negotiate anything of substance, and Sharon continues to advocate a hard-line policy.

Arafat is risking a lot by forcing Israel's hand. But at the same time, the Palestinian leader may yet succeed in gaining the political momentum, putting Israel into the position of reacting to, rather than dictating, the situation.