Editorial
Can Palestinian terrorism, waged mainly, but not only, by extremist
Islamic organizations, be held responsible for the present deadlock
in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations?
The increase in suicide attacks, leaving dozens of Israelis dead
and wounded, has no doubt made the peace process more vulnerable to
right¬wing criticism, even within the Labor party. But the
Israeli-Palestinian talks were already bogged down before the
recent wave of anti-Jewish terrorism.
The fact is that yitzhak Rabin got cold feet when faced with the
necessi¬ty to withdraw Israeli forces from populated
Palestinian centers prior to Palestinian self-rule elections, as
specified by the Oslo Declaration of Principles (OOP).
Rabin's wavering is mainly due to his unwillingness to confront
Jewish settlers who have threatened more than once to oppose by
force any attempt by Palestinian police to assume responsibility
for security in the territories evacuated by Israel's armed forces.
Not only does Rab
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