November 12, 2004

It may seem strange that a critic of Arafat like myself (but certainly not for the reasons marketed by Israel and the US) should be irritated by the reactions to his death, but I have taken issue with many of the questions asked, since Arafat’s life was known to be in danger, and today in a number of interviews I have given, and in questions asked of other commentators. For the most part, they were superficial and paid lip service to the Israeli and American position, whether or not intentionally.

Bush and Sharon have been as blunt and as insulting as they could be, not even giving Palestinians the basic courtesy of respecting their loss. Now that Arafat is dead, peace can be pursued, goes the duo’s refrain, thus pretending he was the impediment to peace, and that Israel is a victim.

As if Arafat were to blame for the violent military Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, the creeping annexation of land with the wall built beyond the 1967 borders, the encroached settlements, and the categorical Israeli refusal that millions of Palestinians exercise their right of return – a right granted by international law, and specifically under UN Security Council resolution 194.

As if the “missed opportunity” of 2000, which Clinton and Barak tried so hard to push on Arafat, could have been accepted by any Palestinian, as it imposed the surrender of most human and national rights, and imposed the acceptance of a mini-state that was neither contiguous, sovereign, or even truly a state.

As if the former militant (vilified as a terrorist by the same terrorists who established the state of Israel with far more brutal methods against the British and the indigenous Palestinian population) could become a head of state without having a state to begin with. As if those who (rightly) accused him of spreading corruption were not even more corrupt themselves, beginning with Sharon, his sons, and his clique.

And as if Israel would renounce its continuous, blatant violations of international law the minute Arafat was out of the way. Let’s see what excuse it will come up with now.

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