Yasser Arafat may have committed one too many acts of terrorism.
More than 30 years of bloodlust may finally be catching up to him.
Israelis have had enough. Even the United States may have had enough.
The suicide bombings in Jerusalem last weekend seem to have delivered a wake-up call – even to those who still, against all reason and odds, held out some hope that Arafat could ever put his history of violence against innocents behind him.
It was never going to happen.
Now Arafat is scrambling for time. He’s begging the Israelis to give him one more chance to bring other factions of his coalition together, to round up the usual suspects, to allow him to wear the peacemaker image again.
But the idea that Arafat has ever tried to contain terrorism is seriously misguided. In fact, it has not been Hamas and Hezbollah that have been responsible for most of the terrorism in Israel over the last 14 months. It has not been the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, nor Islamic Jihad, nor some other militant faction of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. The brutal truth is that it has been Arafat’s own Fatah organization that has perpetrated the majority of the terrorist attacks against Israel since September 2000, when Arafat launched his intifada.
Keep in mind, according to the Oslo Accords – which Arafat is so fond of citing – Fatah is required to refrain from the use of terrorism. Arafat is required by that agreement to discipline all PLO elements and personnel who engage in terrorism. Arafat and Fatah have done neither – just one more example of their bad faith as “peacemakers.”
Beginning in October of 2000, Fatah announced its plans for renewed violence against Israel.
“The Fatah movement calls for its brave sons who stand at the front lines in all the disturbances to continue their great struggle and even to increase it,” the group announced in the PA newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah Oct. 8, last year. “The Fatah movement gives its blessings and support to the guns of Fatah.”
That’s pretty unambiguous. But, in case the message was missed, Ahmed Hilles, general secretary of Fatah in Gaza was quoted last December by Palestinian Media Watch as saying “the intifada will go on and will continue hurting Israelis, and causing their blood to be shed everywhere.”
Later, in March of this year, Fatah’s Marwan Barghouti was quoted in the Jerusalem Post as saying: “Armed resistance is now part of the intifada. Since the beginning of the intifada, 66 Israelis have been killed and 614 injured; those are the good results.”
But words are one thing. What about deeds?
Let’s just look at the three months before the latest bloody attacks in the Jerusalem shopping area:
- Nov. 6: Fatah members carried out a shooting attack south of Nablus, killing one Israeli.
- Oct. 30: A bomb was planted in the home of an Israeli naval officer in Ranaana. Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility.
- Oct. 28: An Israeli driver was shot dead. Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility.
- Oct. 4: A shooting attack killed three Israelis and wounded 16 at the Afula bus station. Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade took responsibility.
- October: Six Fatah members admitted to a series of attacks, including the murder of Aliza Malka Aug. 9, 2001; a shooting attack near Kibbutz Merav that wounded three Israelis; planting a bomb in the village of Massada Aug. 14, 2001; planting bombs near Kibbutz Gilboa; planting a bomb near Kibbutz Mera in May 2001; planting a bomb in Suweitat June 1, 2001, and shooting at Israeli soldiers.
- Sept. 11: Two border policemen were shot dead and a third wounded near Kibbutz Magal. Fatah’s Popular Army Front-Return Battalions claimed responsibility.
- Sept. 6: The Israeli government announced that senior Fatah terrorist Raed Al-Karmi headed a cell, which received funding and directions from Barghouti, that carried out numerous attacks, including: shooting an Israeli car near Burka Dec. 7, 2000, wounding three; kidnapping and murdering Israeli restaurateurs Motti Dayan and Etgar Zitoni in Tulkarm Jan. 23, 2001; a shooting attack near Baqa al-Sharkiya May 31, 2001, killing Zvi Shelef; a shooting attack near Bazaria June 18, 2001, killing Danny Yehuda and wounding Alexander Briskin; a shooting attack near Tulkarm July 4, 2001, killing Eli Ne’eman; shooting at an Israeli border police vehicle near Bir Sika July 30, 2001, wounding three passengers; and a shooting attack near Kfar Zeta Aug. 26, 2001, killing Dan Rosman.
Also, it’s worth noting that just last month, the Israelis captured one of the terrorists involved in the April 1998 murder of U.S. citizen Dov Dribben near Maon. Not surprisingly, he belonged to Fatah.
This has been going on in Israel for more than 30 years. Enough is enough. It’s time finally to put an end to the Arafat era.
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