Is Terrorism Winning?

Submitted by Roslyn Frankl (United States), Dec 25, 2003 at 13:58

Whether terrorism is winning depends on the timing of one's reference point.
Sharon's speech certainly could be taken as concessionary considering the idea that his party has long wanted to govern the territories on a permanent basis. However, one must look at what the Palestinians would have had without terrorism in the form of the intifada: the Barak offer[meaning independence, more freedom of movement, considerable reduction of Israeli settlements] no loss of Palestinian lives, housing or infrastructure, a comfortable Arafat, the ability to continue holding jobs in Israel, a local economy boosted by tourism, a friendly (and perhaps stupid) government in Israel and perhaps freedom from dominance by terrorist hooligans.
Terrorism will win if the final agreements provide for the Palestinians more than the Barak offer would have provided. Justice will win if they receive far less.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".