According to The Egyptian Gazette, ?Despite all this oppression, Palestinians' morale is high.? The reason for this allegedly rising spirit among PLO gunmen, according to the Gazette, is ?A spate of deadly Palestinian backlashes inside Israel [which have] marked a U-turn in the Palestinian-Israeli friction. Furthermore, the newspaper reports, ?Eighteen months after the eruption of their uprising, the Palestinians have significantly improved their military skills. They seem to have got a cue from the war-of-attrition tactic which worked well with Lebanese Islamic resistance Hizbullah less than two years ago. This might explain why the Israeli army carried out a messy and humiliating withdrawal from southern Lebanon after more than two decades of occupation. Intifada has also exhausted the Israeli army, who has been accustomed to blitz strikes, not guerrilla fighting.?
Not only have the PLO forces been inspired by the Hizbullah, reports the newspaper, but ?[s]ince Israel restricted his movement, Arafat's popularity among his people has soared to an all-time high. His oppressor Ariel Sharon is the one who is in a real dilemma. His popularity is dwindling.? Ignoring the massive PLO militia deaths and surrenders in every city Israeli defense forces have entered, the Egyptian Gazette states, ?In military terms, Israel is far superior than the Palestinians. Thus, its crackdown on the Palestinians should have been a walkover. But in effect, this has not happened.?
Not only have the PLO forces been inspired by the Hizbullah, reports the newspaper, but ?[s]ince Israel restricted his movement, Arafat's popularity among his people has soared to an all-time high. His oppressor Ariel Sharon is the one who is in a real dilemma. His popularity is dwindling.? Ignoring the massive PLO militia deaths and surrenders in every city Israeli defense forces have entered, the Egyptian Gazette states, ?In military terms, Israel is far superior than the Palestinians. Thus, its crackdown on the Palestinians should have been a walkover. But in effect, this has not happened.?