FoxNews reports Yasser has issued a condemnation in Arabic of terror attacks and specifically of Friday's suicide bombing.
Reuters reports: "We strongly condemn the violent operations directed at Israeli civilians, especially the latest operation in Jerusalem," Arafat said in a statement carried in Arabic by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. He also condemned "the massacres and slaughters committed by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians and refugees in the city of Nablus, the Jenin camp and against the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem."
I'm surprised he actually said the words, but probably by this point, after refusing for a couple weeks to utter anything like them, he can claim to the terror high command that it was coerced. I think Arafat has established the principle that he always has to get a payoff for his words, and that there always will be a payoff for his words. It's basically an economic decision -- if he condemns terrorism too often, that devalues the currency.
I think, of course, that paying Arafat off for words instead of deeds is incredibly short-sighted, but . . .
Posted by Joel Rosenberg 4/13/2002 2:44:52 PM |