Israeli solutions faulty
COMMENTARY
Eugene Chu

The Israel and Palestine situation in the Middle East is a catastrophe that seems unending. Palestinian terrorist attacks continue to murder or maim numerous Israelis and Israel continues to respond with intense retaliatory strikes. The peace process attempt suffered a recent setback when Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Prime Minister, resigned over irresolvable friction between himself and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. Recently, Israel seems to be saying “no more” and has proposed two problematic solutions.

According to CNN.com, the two Israeli proposals are to expel or kill Yasser Arafat. In theory, an expulsion proposal might involve Israel forcibly removing Arafat from his Ramallah compound in the West Bank and dropping him off in a neutral country. There is no need to explain the details of what Israel killing Arafat would entail. While those proposals may seem pragmatic to Israel, several leading figures from its own side believe that expelling or assassinating Arafat would only make things worse.

After Israel’s proposals became public, the Arab world obviously condemned them. Along with Arab condemnation, the United States has criticized the ideas of expelling or assassinating Arafat. CNN.com quoted U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell as saying, “We think it would create a great deal of difficulty in the region. You’re just putting him on another stage somewhere else.”

While former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once compared Yasser Arafat to Saddam Hussein, that considerable comparison has some problems.

Some people believe action against Arafat would be equivalent to Operation: Iraqi Freedom. In both cases, a despicable dictator would no longer rule, but world opinion would turn against the freedom fighters.

If Israel were to expel or assassinate Arafat, Israel could suffer the same fate as the United States did when it invaded Iraq. A perhaps even worse scenario, full-fledged Palestinian reprisal, would move Israel from the frying pan into the fire. Despite the proposals for a man described as “an obstacle to peace,” expulsion or assassination could make an already bad situation into something even worse.

While the situation is already terrible, the news has mainly reported sporadic Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israel. If Israel expels or kills Yasser Arafat, the Palestinians might respond with total reprisals. Instead of worrying about a Hamas homicide bomber sneaking in, Israel might have to contend with a Palestinian horde attempting a full-scale invasion. Instead of house-to-house fighting in Jenin, street fighting might happen in Jerusalem, Israel’s own backyard.

The Middle East crisis is like an intense flame. Unending violence and deteriorating peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis are only feeding that flame. To deal with this situation, Israel has proposed two tough possibilities against Arafat in order to extinguish that flame. The problem is, Israel’s plan might lead to complicated repercussions. Instead of pouring water on the fire, Israel might be pouring gasoline.

Eugene Chu is a senior political science major from Arlington.