THREATENING THE PALESTINIANS WITH STATEHOOD :

No Deal on Israeli Troop Pullback (Ibrahim Barzak, August 8, 2002, Associated Press)

Obstacles were still likely even if the approval were finalized.

Late Wednesday, for example, top officials of Arafat's Fatah movement denounced the decision, saying it had been taken without their consultation and amounted to a betrayal of the struggle of the past 23 months.

The haste with which the Palestinians bailed out of this agreement after Arafat agreed to it demonstrates once again that the greatest threat to the Palestinian leadership is actual control of Palestine. If the mere prospect of Israeli pullbacks had them in this big a tizzy, just imagine if Israel withdrew completely and recognized the new state of Palestine. The whole place would be reduced to factional fighting. They'd be so busy shooting each other, there'd be no time to kill Jews. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 8, 2002 10:02 AM