Arafat At The Brink
The previous weekend three Hamas suicide bombers had carried out attacks in Jerusalem and Haifa, killing 27 Israelis in the span of 12 hours. Under intense U.S. and Israeli pressure, Palestinian security forces had fanned out across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, hauling 120 Islamic militants into custody. But Israelis derided Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasir Arafat’s efforts as a mere roundup of the usual suspects, and White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer all but mocked the Palestinian leader, saying his jails are “built with bars in front with revolving doors at the back....