Under pressure from the Bush Administration, the Palestinian Authority announced that it will hold presidential elections in mid-January 2003. Bush wants Arafat dumped, but polls show that Arafat is widely favored to win. Could Bush be giving Arafat an even bigger mandate? Should the US be allowed to force Arafat to sit out the elections?
posted by jennak on Jun 26, 2002 - 71 comments

Did Arafat actually finance suicide bombers? Media gadfly Ali Abunimah has posted a dissection of the document produced by Sharon: "On initial inspection, at least five of the names...were not suicide bombers, but rather people assassinated by Israeli death squads." The alleged smoking gun hasn't been independently corroborated, but commentators like Chris Matthews uncritically accept its validity and state the connection as fact: "[Arafat] pays for the dynamite and the bullets and relief benefits for their families." Does the mainstream media check its skepticism at the door when it comes to statements by Israeli government officials or what?
posted by mediareport on Apr 9, 2002 - 15 comments

As the violence in the Middle East escalates, and Arab anger grows over American support of Israel (especially among the masses), is another oil embargo possible? Oil may be the Arab world's daily bread, but it's also its only weapon — if, say, Arafat is killed or Israel goes too far in its incursions into Palestinian territories, popular sentiment in the already-shaky local regimes could force Arab governments to put up a show of defiance to calm their constituencies.
posted by Rastafari on Apr 4, 2002 - 13 comments

Arafat is Dead Man Walking Looking grim here in the Old USA. Wonder what the future holds?
posted by Niahmas on Mar 29, 2002 - 32 comments

Israel Surrounds Arafat HQ -- Israelis seem very serious this time. So which side are you on?
a) DAMN ISRAELIS or b) DAMN PALESTINIANS
I pick b.
posted by yevge on Mar 28, 2002 - 90 comments

This is why Yasser Arafat's, and the Palestinian Authority(sic)'s days are severely numbered: the sham capture and release last year of the guy responsible for yesterday's massacre. My prediction: Israel will completely reoccupy the territories in the next three months to clean out the place.
posted by ParisParamus on Mar 28, 2002 - 55 comments

From David Remnick's analysis in The New Yorker. Faisal Husseini, a decided moderate among Yasir Arafat's leadership ranks, gave an interview not long before he died in which he compared Oslo to a Trojan horse, an intermediate, tactical step leading to the elimination of Israel. He said, "If you are asking me as a Pan-Arab nationalist what are the Palestinian borders according to the higher strategy, I will immediately reply: 'From the river to the sea' "—that is, from the Jordan to the Mediterranean.
posted by semmi on Mar 17, 2002 - 7 comments

Arafat's duplicity revealed on video. His call for an end to terrorism, published in The NY Times suggests peacful intentions. This article claims he has made videos which suggest to Arab audiences that his talk is merely strategic and he has the elimination of the State Of Israel as his goal
posted by Postroad on Feb 4, 2002 - 35 comments

Yasir Arafat , in his own words: "The Palestinian Vision of Peace." New York Times Op-ed contribution this weekend, in case it was missed (reg req)
posted by Voyageman on Feb 4, 2002 - 9 comments

Israel proposes gradual withdrawal from Area A. here's the next step in Israeli policy, and just to show we're not all talk, IDF troops begin withdrawal from positions in Ramallah area. This has been tried several times before, yet Arafat has never been proven successful in stopping terror. Will things turn out any different this time?
posted by martz on Dec 20, 2001 - 40 comments

The "Face of Terror"? W.Y.S.I.W.Y.G. I haven't seen propaganda like this before. An interesting take on Arafat. Take a closer look.
posted by MattS on Dec 12, 2001 - 17 comments

"...either Arafat brings justice to [the suicide bombing victims] and fights terrorism, or we will have to do it ourselves." Has the War on Terrorism created a precedent for any state to assult/invade another state which has perpetrated a terrorist attack on them..? [more inside]
posted by Neale on Dec 3, 2001 - 48 comments

Bush had plans to back Arafat before 9/11.
posted by swift on Oct 2, 2001 - 5 comments

If Only It Was Arafat. Good. If he was who they say he was, he deserved it. Keep Playing Hardball. The Israelis should play this kind of hardball for a few years. Then the rocks will stop, things will settle down, perhaps the Palestineans will stop claiming Jerusalem, get some kind of real government, and then, perhaps their own little state. Then again, since no Arab state comes close to being a democracy, perhaps that will never happen.
posted by ParisParamus on Apr 5, 2001 - 12 comments

Israel Defense Forces attempt to take out Arafat One target in Ramallah, in the West Bank, and four in Gaza were hit, all belonging to Arafat's elite personal bodyguard unit, Force 17.
posted by Neb on Mar 28, 2001 - 30 comments

In an attempt to preempt Arafat's declaration of an independent state, Israel is threatening to unilaterally declare its own borders. "In its most absolute form, Israel would separate by creating its own borders, thereby carving out a Palestinian state as well, although in a form unlikely to be acceptable to Palestinians. " Okay, now imagine trying to draw lines on a map like this!.
posted by lagado on Oct 22, 2000 - 8 comments