Sharon Taking Revenge From Arafat

Abdulwahab Badrakhan     Al-Hayat     2003/07/14

Sharon returned to Europe. Is he now accepted? Maybe. Is he now respected? Certainly not... The reason for his comeback is the Roadmap. Did Sharon really accept it? The Europeans have no other choice but to believe that the one they consider to be a war criminal is actually changing, just as they have no other choice but to believe that the American President is serious about bringing peace to the Middle East. Besides, Europe has no role outside the Roadmap, and a resumption of relations with the Israeli Premier is crucial to the map's execution.

Before Sharon left to London, he received a first gift; Belgium annulled the international war crimes law, which allowed its courts to sue foreign officials, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. When this law was enacted in 1993, the Belgian legislators were not thinking of Sharon specifically, but the Belgian government cancelled the law for Sharon specifically. The American threats and pressures were effective, so that certain individuals known as terrorists have international immunity, making them more powerful than states and laws.     

It is clear that Sharon wants to use his comeback to Europe for a personal revenge he hasn't yet achieved, and that is, eliminating Palestinian President Yasser Arafat by any means possible. Europe didn't antagonize Sharon by letting Arafat win. It antagonized him merely because it didn't bless his terrorism and animosity, the way the U.S. administration did. Europe didn't maintain its relations with Arafat just to irritate Sharon, but rather because the Palestinian president represents his people, and nothing has yet happened to prove that this people doesn't recognize Arafat as its representative.

Moreover, Sharon gave the Europeans yet a new excuse, saying that it was a big mistake to maintain relations with Arafat because it weakened the government of Mahmoud Abbas.

But he thinks the Europeans are stupid and have no idea about what is really happening on the ground. They know fully well that the issue of weakening the Abbas government or strengthening it has nothing to do with the power game between Arafat and Abbas; rather, it depends on Israel relinquishing its aggressive methods against the Palestinian people. So far, Sharon's government hasn't actually proven that it really intends to strengthen the Abbas government in a constructive way. In fact, it is nurturing the Palestinian public's anger against their government by refusing to cancel any occupational move, which would allow Abbas and his government to establish a dialogue with their people towards securing an agreement on the next stage, based on national interests.  

Fortunately, the Europeans have gained a valuable experience regarding the Palestinian situation, and no matter how strong their pragmatism is, they would still be able to differentiate between terrorism and resistance, and between occupation and real efforts towards negotiations and peace. They even used rationalism and self-restraint to make the U.S. administration admit implicitly that the problem is Sharon himself, and that this problem can only be fixed with an international effort through the Roadmap. Washington had allowed Sharon to reoccupy the West Bank and actually provided a cover and protection for all his crimes and even allowed him to put Arafat "outside the game," as it is said. However, it soon faced the fact that a large part of the equation is with its Israeli ally, which took its actions to an irrational level to reach a dead end. It is true that they both agree on fighting terrorism, but the core of the problem lies in the occupation and not in terrorism. It is also true that the U.S. administration realizes this fact, but doesn't admit it publicly. However, it is now directly involved in the region, and should find a new mentality that falls outside the Israeli context, which has been hindering its policy.

In any case, if the Palestinian government is really concerned about removing Arafat, none of the officials have said it to this day, even if certain opportunists have self-appointed themselves as the government's spokesmen, as Sharon did. Until further notice, this government still needs the legitimacy embodied by the Palestinian President, and if Sharon were to decide of the fate of Arafat, he would be appropriating for Israel the right to determine the fate and agenda of any future Palestinian leader succeeding Arafat.