Volume 2 Issue
16All articles linked to this newsletter are for reference only.
Volume 2 Issue
16Intifada Builds Head
Of Steam For The Last Time?
By Randy Loudenslager
Could this be Yassar Arafat's last stand? Time will tell, Israel has retaliated for yet another act of violence against her, by moving troops and equipment in to occupy the Palestinian town of Tulkarm. This is nothing new in the way of Palestinian terrorism or Israeli reprisals, but what is curious is the effect Israeli containment of Yassar Arafat is having on him. Israel has broken off all ties to Arafat, and has effectively isolated his movements to his Ramallah compound, Israeli tanks have come to within 60 yards of this compound.
It is becoming increasingly obvious, that the Israeli government will not sit down with Arafat again. They have adjusted their tactics to the task of weakening Arafat's authority among Palestinians in order to force him out of power. There are other Palestinians, in positions of power, who the Israeli's believe they can deal with, an option that has just recently revealed itself.
Arafat sees the writing on the wall and is vowing publicly to go down fighting. What's more, he is trying to persuade the Palestinians to fight en masse for the cause by speaking in Islamic fundamentalist mannerisms that increasingly invoke the call to martyrdom, the peoples and his own. Few think that their will be a ground swell of support for such action, although it will encourage the terror groups, Hamas, Hezzbolah and Islamic Jihad, to increase their violent activities.
It is believed by most Middle East experts, that Arafat will probably open up his caches of heavy arms, presently hidden in Gaza and the West Bank. This has prompted Israel to warn the Palestinians and Iran, Arafat's major arms supplier, that they will change their tactics drastically if any missiles are launched at Israeli cities. Arafat in a desperate gamble to stay in power may hope to lure other Arab nations into the war when they see the draconian actions Israel will be forced to use to maintain law and order. Saddam Hussein is seen as a possible last minute savior for the Palestinians, but he is not likely to make the attempt since he has cooled his anti-Israel rhetoric in the face of a possible U.S. invasion.
It is likely that Yassar Arafat will die fighting or may go into exile, but with his popularity with Palestinians hovering at an all time low, it will be inevitable that he will be removed from power. The man who will replace him will probably not be the antichrist This new leader will probably approach Israel as a statesman to be reckoned with and yet still personify what embodies a Palestinian hero. He may very well be a man who sees peace with Israel as the only way to achieve the Palestinian dream of all of the land of Israel as a Palestinian state. It will be then that Israel's worst nightmare will begin.