At long last it looks as though Israel may soon have what it has dreamed of for decades - a world without Yasser Arafat. Best of all, they won't even need to justify themselves to the world at large for having done the deed.
Super. Now what?
Just like the dog who catches the mail truck is bound to be at a total loss as to what comes next, has the Israeli leadership fully considered the ramifications of getting what they want? With Arafat out, someone else will have to be in. I seriously doubt the Knesset will have the privilege of making that appointment.
Though the reigns may not have been pulled as tight as most would like, isn't it reasonable to believe the Arafat did exert a moderating influence over Hamas and other like minded organizations? What is to prevent someone from that fringe of the movement assuming Palestinian leadership?
Then, I fear, Israel will have placed itself in a completely untenable position. They will justifiably claim a right and necessity to protect their very existence. How long, though, will the world stand by, particularly the Arab world, while Israel employs helicopter gunships against sticks, stones, and pipe bombs, asserting that it is a vital national security interest to blow up women and children in refugee camps? Of course there is not the faintest hint of justification for Palestinian homicide bombers to take the lives of innocent Israeli citizens either, but even in the best light Israel must eventually come off looking like the gigantic schoolyard bully picking on the weakest available victim.
Can Israel, more than any other people on this planet, possibly get away with committing cultural if not outright racial genocide in the name of preventing their own? Less imaginable, could any Israeli citizen truly harbor such a sentiment?
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