Prof. Paul Eidelberg wrote an article entitled "Arafat's Peace-And-War Strategy" in The Jewish Press this past Friday. He writes that the current Palestinian terrorism is actually a "war of attrition" and that Arafat is waging it in order to accomplish several important objectives. These include diplomatic, financial, and military assistance of Israel's enemies, as well as the following:
* It trains and hardens a generation of Arab warriors for the State of Palestine as conceived by Arafat.
* It kills and maims thousands of Jewish women, men, and children and demoralizes many more.
* It ruins Israel's economy, decreases Aliyah and increases emigration.
* It aggravates political, ethnic, and religious divisions in Israel.
* It prompts foreign pressure and intervention, and thus diminishes Israel's independence and self-confidence.
* It leads to cease-fires and negotiations, during which Israel, longing for peace, makes gratuitous concessions, while Arafat's forces regroup, rearm, and prepare for the next phase of this peace-and-war strategy.
Eidelberg further notes that Abu Mazen's role is to give the PLO a diplomatic front: "Despite [Abu Mazen's] long known career as the PLO's number-two terrorist… Sharon, who would not shake the bloodstained hands of Arafat, has no qualms about shaking the bloodstained hands of Abu Mazen. Thus dignified, Prime Minister Abu Mazen - who takes his orders from President Arafat - has already gained unilateral concessions from his Israeli counterpart…"
These include a withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Yesha, the evacuation of many Jewish settlement points - "causing civil strife and undermining the country's confidence in its future" - and more. Eidelberg warns that the release of Arab terrorists "will erode the morale of soldiers who risked their lives to capture those terrorists [and will] corrupt youth, seeing how their government has abandoned justice for the sake of a dubious peace," that tens of thousands of PA Arabs who are permitted to work in Israel will surely provide intelligence to Arafat's terrorist organizations, and that tax payments will be disbursed to the PLO, thus facilitating the next outbreak of violence.