The year 2005 may herald a new era of hope for the Middle East. The death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has provided the opportunity for all parties to push with renewed vigor for a negotiated peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Amazingly, the interested parties appear to be making the most of this chance.
While Arafat was revered throughout the Middle East as a symbol of the Palestinian struggle, Israelis and Americans considered him a guerrilla leader unable to abandon the ways of war. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon came to office determined to marginalize Arafat and render him irrelevant. He succeeded: At the time of his death, Arafat had been confined to his Ramallah headquarters for over two years; he ruled an increasingly dysfunctional Palestinian Authority and its control over nominally Palestinian territory was shaky at best.
Mr. Sharon was abetted by the United States, which shared his view that Arafat was an obstacle to peace rather than an essential element of it. The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush largely ignored the Palestinian leader; when it did acknowledge him, it was primarily to demand that he loosen his grip on the Palestinian Authority and share power. Weakened, Arafat nonetheless was able to frustrate attempts to diminish his authority. As a result, a bloody stalemate ensued, Palestinians suffered and Israelis endured random acts of terrorism.