By now, Arafat has long lost much of his claim to leadership in the eyes of many Palestinians. Current Palestinian uprisings are in part due to their anger against the "peace process" which, at its best, would only give them bantustans (if that) & which has not restrained Israeli expansion of settlements in the occupied territories at all -- in other words, against Arafat's compromises which promised so little and have deliver virtually nothing. If Arafat turned a Gandhi, he'd _completely_ lose his authority.
***** Israeli settlements `destroying peace process'
By Jennifer Thompson
Following a November 14 European parliament resolution condemning recent Israeli conduct in the occupied territories, a December 1 Arab League extraordinary meeting has warned that the peace process between the PLO and the Israeli government is being destroyed.
Even Israel's closest ally, the US, criticised Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu on November 27, when a State Department spokesperson said his policy of expanding Israeli settlements in the occupied territories was jeopardising peace.
Israel plans to drastically increase settlements in the West Bank. Its aim, says Palestinian geographer Khalil Tufakji, is to redraw the Green Line (the pre-1967 armistice line) to swallow a large chunk of the West Bank....
<http://jinx.sistm.unsw.edu.au/~greenlft/1996/258/258p21.htm> *****
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Yoshie