Was It Worth It?

STAR- Columnist Semih Idiz writes on the Middle East problem. A summary of his column is as follows:
It seems as if the suicide bombings have stopped following the operation Israel launched on the Palestinian territories. Only time will tell if they will start again in the future. However, these attacks are not taking place nowadays, when they are expected the most. Certainly, everyone and common sense would dictate it to continue this way. This state of affairs has encouraged all the hawks, namely Ariel Sharon. They may say that the Palestinians are now cowering in fear after they acted determinedly and harshly. Israelis did not care a whit about the anger of the international community, and many unpleasant metaphors and harsh labels were attached to them in recent weeks. In other words, they could not care less. Israel does not attach importance to the UN or the EU. Certainly, it empowers them to take the support of the US. However, even if the US administration changed its pro-Israeli policy, it would not result in a significant change in Israel. In other words, if necessary, the Israeli government would have defied even the US. Here it is not important what foreign countries say, but what happens within the country. Terrorist attacks resulting in the death of increasing number of innocent civilians had become ordinary occurrences. These attacks had led the Israeli in the street to cry out, ‘Stop this violence, no matter the cost.’ I won’t dwell on the history of the suicide bombings, their political or sociological causes and whether the savage Israeli operations against them are right or wrong. My question is to Arafat: Was it worth approving of the terror campaign if the Palestinian administration and its infrastructure built after long, hard efforts would be destroyed? From whom did the Palestinians expect any help? From the UN, which could muster neither the strength nor the will in the face of the incidents in Bosnia? From the EU, which is unreliable in such issues, or from the Arab World, which I believe has done nothing but shed crocodile’s tears for the Palestinians? What exactly did Arafat gain? Sharon has been squeezed into a corner. He now has to accept concepts such as an ‘independent Palestine’ or ‘halting Jewish settlements.’ This is Sharon’s blunder. He stirred up the conflict just to prevent the peace process covering these matters, and the situation has led to a point he least wanted. What Arafat gained from this conflict was the support of the Palestinian people. Formerly, there were groups espousing different views such as Hamas, Hizbullah and many other factions. This may be an achievement. But when its cost to the Palestinian people is considered, one cannot help but asking, was it worth it? Is it leadership?

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION