My Tribute to the Worlds Favourite Terrorist

Conflicting reports on the end of Arafat: the Luxembourg Prime Minister just announced that he is not dead. The Palestinian leadership is also claiming that he is not dead. I think he has travelled back to the Creator, and is finally being judged.

Here is my tribute to Arafat, an excerpt from Dennis Ross' "The Missing Peace." (See a previous excerpt that epitomised that decrepit terrorist here.)

The context: Negotiations regarding one of the most difficult phases of Oslo, the Hebron Shuttle. Arafat had just concluded a promising conversation with Bill Clinton and was about to accept transfer of civil an security authority and responsibility for most of Hebron.

Then, as we stood there talking, Nabil Abu Rudeina, who had left the room and now reappeared, reported that he had just received a message from Saeb Erakat about the security negotiations; the Israelis were now insisting on twice as many joint mobile units (JMUs) in the Palestinian sector of H-1, as in H-2, trying, in Saeb's words, to humiliate the Palestinians. Arafat, his mood suddenly darkening, wondered aloud how we could conclude the agreement when the Israelis were giving nothing and squeezing him. He started to work himself into a near frenzy, claiming the Isaelis had put 250 tanks into Gaza. "Imagine 250 tanks, more than they had when they seized Gaza in the 1967 war. What are they trying to do? Humiliate me, squeeze me. They won't succeed. They did much more against me in Lebanon and they could not succeed." He was on a tangent, and a quixotic on at that - I knew the charge of 250 tanks as ridiculous. But I knew him well enough to now that there was method in his madness. He was trying to undo the deal and put the onus on the Israelis to explain that he was in no position to conclude when he was under such pressure from the Israelis. I told him that I would call PM Netanyahu on the tank question, and did so. Bibi was incredulous at the charge but I insisted that he check and call back with an explanation. (He would call back to report that three armoured personnel carriers had moved into Gaza.) Having defused this, I then asked Arafat for a private meeting and (once all of his aides had left) began patiently to remind him that, in fact, the Israelis were making concessions in the negotiations. But he refused to listen, instead insisting that he was being squeezed and we were in a "stalemate." I told him that I had worked my butt off to produce those Israeli concessions. He would have none of it; saying he was being squeezed and everything was stuck. I put the cap on my pen and closed my notebook and said, "Fine. There is nothing left for me to do. You promised the President you would do your best but all you want to do is complain. That is not doing your best and there is no point in my presenting the ideas the President referred to..." I was all set to tell him that I had had it when Gamal, who was interpreting, suddenly switched from translating and pressed in closer to Arafat's chair, half standing, half leaning into Arafat's face, and shrieked, "You can't do this to this man! Do you know how hard he has worked? Do you see how he is moving the PM (Netanyahu)? He has gone without sleep for twelv days. He is working tirelessly for you. Who else is going to help you? Don't let him go like this..."

Comments

[Rob]

I'll definitely do a happy dance when I get difinitive news he's dead. Meantime, I'm hoping hoping hoping!

[Anti-Un]

Indeed. Although SkyNews will desscribe you as an extremist. because while dancing to the tune of 9/11 is understandable given the past grievances perpetrated by the evil Americans, celebrating the demise of a murderer is an extremist act.