The PLO withers while Hamas flourishes
With Arafat neutralized and his parliament hardly functioning, the Hamas is plucking the political fruit of the terror attacks. They believe they can now make a bid for the Palestinian leadership.

There are signs that the leaders and activists of the Hamas movement are feeling a sense of strength, an intoxication with power.

The reasons are clear: Their political rivals have been weakened considerably. Their chief rival, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's government, is continuing to crumble. In the West Bank, PA institutions function only partially and Palestinian security organizations were effectively broken up about a year ago in Operation Defensive Shield.
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Hell no, Bibi's nephew won't go
Israel is throwing the book at Netanyahu's refusenik kin, as the number of young people evading military service continues to rise.

In less than two weeks, 20-year-old Jonathan Ben-Artzi will likely become the first Israeli conscientious objector in three decades to be tried before a military tribunal, where he could be sentenced to up to three years in prison for refusing to serve in the military. He's already been locked up for nearly eight months without a trial. His family is firmly behind him, arguing that the government is getting tough on so-called refuseniks because they challenge not just Israeli policy in the occupied territories, but the entire structure of Israeli society, built as it is around compulsory military service.
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