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pair of suicide bombings that struck Israel this weekend, leaving
25 dead and over 170 injured has come on top of 14 months of violent
confrontation with the Palestinians producing daily Israeli casualties
and several previous suicide attacks. But while Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon condemned Arafat as ultimately responsible for the
terrorism — he did not call for an end to Arafat's regime.
Israel's Defense
Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer explains his opposition to toppling
Arafat and the PA saying, "What comes the day after needs to
be considered." Israel stares into the post-Palestinian Authority
(PA) abyss and hesitates from taking the final step.
Israelis want
an easy way out of the intractable Palestinian problem. Consequently
many have embraced the delusion that the right alchemy of concessions
and threats will ultimately force Arafat to make a deal. Other Israelis
propose separation, building a wall around a Palestinian state and
waiting for a moderate Palestinian leadership to arise.
After eight
years it is apparent that Arafat viewed the peace process as akin
to the Trojans opening their gates and wheeling in the horse. Throughout
the peace process, his official statements of his demands have not
varied one iota. At the same time he created a fertile soil for
Intifada by radicalizing Palestinian society. He destroyed the reasonably
prosperous Palestinian economy through massive corruption. He founded
an education system and media that spat vile, anti-Semitic hate.
He governed by fiat and created a multi-tentacled security apparatus
to destroy civil society and the rule of law.
Separation
is also not workable. Mortars and artillery will fly over the wall,
terrorists will get through it. An isolated Palestinian society
will not produce moderates. The thugocracy will become even stronger.
Israel will create a mini-Afghanistan on its borders.
The easy solution
Israel seeks does not exist. There are no moderates in the PA hierarchy
to succeed Arafat. The Palestinian opposition is Hamas, the radical
Islamist terrorist organization. So, Israel sticks with Arafat —
the devil it knows.
But there is
another way, a difficult path. Israel must foster a moderate Palestinian
leadership that can make peace. The first step will be to eliminate
the PA which silences voices of moderation. Israel has a range of
diplomatic, financial, and military options that could effectively
eliminate the PA, without completely reoccupying Gaza and the West
Bank. Legally, the PA exists through treaties signed with Israel.
Israel has many grounds on which to abrogate these agreements. Financially
it is dependent on funds transferred through Israel. Israeli military
operations could end the PA within days — if not hours. This
will be the easy part.
The hard part
will be building a lawful, peaceful Palestinian society. Israel
will have to identify and cultivate moderate local leaderships.
It will have to consistently reward and protect those who cooperate
and firmly isolate and punish those who do not.
It will be
an awesome challenge for such a small country. But after World War
II, the United States rebuilt Germany and Japan as liberal democracies.
Israel's resources vis-à-vis the Palestinians are comparable
to the resources possessed by the United States vis-à-vis
Germany and Japan.
Israel's democracy
is far from perfect. It is wracked by a range of social and economic
problems. But the United States of 1945 was segregated and had interned
hundreds of thousands of Americans of Japanese origin. Nonetheless,
the core values of liberal democracy in the United States were strong
enough to rebuild Germany and Japan. For all of its flaws Israel
has been a democracy under the most trying circumstances and is
committed to the values that underpin democracy.
These values
may find a receptive audience among the Palestinians. Before the
Intifada began, many Palestinians were asking provocative questions
about Palestinian society and the future Palestinian state. Some
spoke admiringly of Israeli democracy and lamented the absence of
democracy in the Arab world. Many railed against PA corruption.
A few Palestinians asked deeper questions about the mounting violence
pervading Palestinian society. Palestinians were beginning to discuss
problems facing Palestinian society without reflexively blaming
Israel.
But eight years
of Arafat have ravaged Palestinian society. The unending violence,
grinding poverty, and chilling calls for child-martyrs have torn
the social fabric of Palestinian society. The Palestinians need
peace to recover from their self-inflicted wounds.
It is conceivable
that, with Israeli guidance, freedom could take hold among the Palestinians.
Proximity to Israel, a successful liberal democracy with a first
world economy, is an invaluable asset for the Palestinians. This
proximity also means Israel cannot ignore Palestinian development.
Building a moderate Palestinian polity will not be easy. But it
will not be possible until Arafat and the PA are removed.
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