Said on Arafat

[Peter K.]

Edward Said: The Desertion of Arafat
New Left Review 11, September-October 2001
http://www.newleftreview.net/NLR24502.shtml
"Israeli pressure on Palestinians was stepped up even further in
the days following the dreadful events of September 11th. Predawn
raids were launched on the West Bank towns of Jenin, Jericho and
Ramallah, destroying security outposts, government buildings and
family homes. In the Beituniya district of Ramallah, shells hit a
coffee shop, a mosque and a kindergarten—all perfectly acceptable
‘collateral damage’, and scarcely worth a mention in the Western
media. Such Israeli aggression has, after all, been the norm for
nearly a year now. Over 600 Palestinians have been killed since
the Al-Aqsa Intifada began—four times the number of Israeli
deaths; and 15,000 wounded—twelve times more than on the other
side. Regular IDF assassinations have picked off alleged
terrorists at will, most of the time killing innocents like so
many flies. In August, fourteen Palestinians were openly murdered
by Israeli troops using helicopter gunships and missiles, to
‘prevent’ them killing Israelis, although at least two children
and five bystanders were also slaughtered, to say nothing of many
wounded civilians."

Peter