\"The Israelis see in [Nelson] Mandela a leader who took a principled decision to make peace with his enemies, and kept his word. The Palestinians see him as a nationalist fighter who refused to compromise his principles even when that meant immense personal suffering - and as a leader guided by those same principles when making the historic compromises necessary to minimize bloodshed while pursuing his goals. And in both instances - and others - Arafat falls short by comparison... Arafat never made clear to his own people the massive compromises involved in the Oslo Peace process... Indeed, as much as it suited Arafat\'s immediate agenda, the intifada was also viewed by many observers of Palestinian politics as an outpouring of anger against the Palestinian Authority...\"
-Tony Karon, Time Magazine, June 5, 2001
\"...[T]he settlements are not the core problem. The core problem right now is Yasir Arafat -- the Palestinian leader who cannot say ‘yes’ and will not say ‘uncle.’ President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Ehud Barak put on the table before Mr. Arafat a historic compromise proposal that would have given Palestinians control of 94 to 96 percent of the West Bank and Gaza... Not only would Mr. Arafat not take it, he would not even say: ‘Well, this was insufficient, but this is the most far-reaching and serious proposal Palestinians have ever seen. Now, I want to enter into a dialogue with the Israeli people and government to see if I can get them to 100 percent\'... No, instead, Mr. Arafat launched this idiotic uprising. He did so because he is essentially a political coward and maneuverer, who apparently has not given up his long-term aim of eliminating Israel and who was afraid in the short run that if he took 99 percent, he would be killed for the 1 percent he left on the table...\"
-Thomas Friedman, The New York Times, May 22
-Tony Karon, Time Magazine, June 5, 2001
\"...[T]he settlements are not the core problem. The core problem right now is Yasir Arafat -- the Palestinian leader who cannot say ‘yes’ and will not say ‘uncle.’ President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Ehud Barak put on the table before Mr. Arafat a historic compromise proposal that would have given Palestinians control of 94 to 96 percent of the West Bank and Gaza... Not only would Mr. Arafat not take it, he would not even say: ‘Well, this was insufficient, but this is the most far-reaching and serious proposal Palestinians have ever seen. Now, I want to enter into a dialogue with the Israeli people and government to see if I can get them to 100 percent\'... No, instead, Mr. Arafat launched this idiotic uprising. He did so because he is essentially a political coward and maneuverer, who apparently has not given up his long-term aim of eliminating Israel and who was afraid in the short run that if he took 99 percent, he would be killed for the 1 percent he left on the table...\"
-Thomas Friedman, The New York Times, May 22