Arafat's Israeli coalition

Arafat must not be assassinated. This is not some left-wing notion or a sudden burst of compassion for the Palestinian leader. No, Arafat must not be assassinated because as long as he's around there will be no peace, Israel will be able to go on holding the territories, there will be no need to evacuate settlements or come up with a political plan, the Labor Party will not have to vie for public opinion, the Likud will continue to enjoy policy successes at home and abroad, and if we return to a routine of "only" one terrorist attack a month, we will forget very quickly who is heading the Palestinian Authority, because we will be - in fact we already are - the Palestinian Authority. That is, the authority that is managing the Palestinians.
[read more]

----------

The message of the Caesarea Conference

The real message sent by the Caesarea Conference, which drew to a close last Thursday in Jerusalem, was not the prime minister's announcement of a secret understanding which he supposedly reached with the U.S government about principles of an agreement with the Palestinians. Rather, the true message of the conference was a consensus displayed by its participants: They all agreed the economy could not be rescued from its current stagnant state unless a dramatic diplomatic-security breakthrough comes about. Laden in this diagnosis is the key to breaking the vicious circle of violence which has plagued Israeli-Palestinian relations for the past 22 months.
[read more]

----------

Zionist Dreams Sinking Into Despair
Mideast: U.S.-born Israelis revise their belief in a peaceful yet democratic state.