Seize Chance for Peace After Arafat's Death

Summary

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It's still a long shot and a long, hard road, but Palestinians might now have a chance to have a state, a democracy and peaceful co- existence with Israel after the death of Yasser Arafat. Arafat was long the symbol of the state Palestinians longed for, but he proved utterly incapable of giving it to them. He had the chance to give statehood to them four years ago in the Camp David II negotiations with then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and then-President Bill Clinton. If Arafat had shown the courage to say yes, he might have been eulogized today as the father of a nation.

In the end, despite the promise of the Oslo Accords that won Arafat a share of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, he was never able to give up terrorism and agree to peace. He did nothing to control the violence of the intifada, instead watching as the Palestinians' prospects were reduced to rubble and as he himself was marginalized by Israel.

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Seize Chance for Peace After Arafat's Death

Now there is another chance for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Neither side can afford the mis...

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