U.S. blocks cabinet move to exile Arafat

The United States yesterday blocked Israel from immediately expelling Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat from the territories. However, the security cabinet approved a decision in principle to "remove" Arafat, "in a manner, and at a time, of its choosing."
[...]

Minister for International Cooperation Nabil Sha'ath said the decision itself was "a declaration of war on the Palestinian people," and though the PA had received American and European assurances that the decision would never be carried out, "anything could happen with this [Israeli] government."

Some 4,000 Palestinians converged on Arafat's office in Ramallah to express support for him after the cabinet decision and a few thousand more staged demonstrations of support in other cities in the West Bank and Gaza.

The U.S. State Department responded by reiterating America's opposition to Arafat's expulsion, saying that though it continued to regard Arafat as "part of the problem, not part of the solution," it believes that expelling
him would make the situation worse.
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The gun is loaded and cocked. Oh yes, and there is hair trigger. I would be suprised if Arafat survived any attempt to remove him.

I've linked to the article Billmon refers to here, before. It's worth reading again and it's worth reading Billmon's comments.

The Politics of Despair

There's more, most of it dealing with the bleak choices Israel now faces as the dream of Greater Israel collapses into reality of an endless intifada.

One can argue with some of Berg's assumptions. Like many Israelis, he clings to certain myths about the nature of Zionism and the creation of the Jewish state -- just as many Americans refuse to part with some dear but distorted perceptions of U.S. history.

But his conclusions are inescapable: Israel has run out of time. Time for "muddling through" -- refusing to choose between peace and the settlements. Time for giving lip service to a two-state solution while quietly doing everything possible to make such a solution impossible. Time for pretending Israel can remain both a democracy and a Jewish state while still preserving the status quo in the territories. Time for believing that somehow, American power could rescue Israel from its dilemma. Time for illusions and delusions.

Berg's piece zeros in on the bottom line: To perpetuate the status quo is to choose, and that choice is Israel's destruction -- not now, not next year, but eventually, perhaps within a few decades.
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