Yasser Arafat has survived any number of "defining moments" and "turning points" in his
decades as a Palestinian leader. Now comes another, perhaps the final one. The horrific
slaughter of more than two dozen innocent Israelis in attacks in Jerusalem and Haifa over
the weekend makes it imperative that the Palestinian Authority president break the back of
the terrorist groups that carry out such murders of pure hatred. Arafat's failure to do so
would open the door to an all-out Israeli war on organizations such as Hamas, which
claimed responsibility for the most recent attacks, and Islamic Jihad, surely with greater
suffering for the Palestinian people Arafat claims to represent.
Israel retaliated Monday, launching air strikes on Arafat's helicopter compound in
the Gaza Strip and the West Bank city of Jenin. Israeli spokesmen also warned of greater,
unspecified payback.
The attack and counterattack are the latest tightening of the dreadful happenings
that must and need......
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