440 • 21 THE WAR ON TERRORISM- Most Americans blamed Arafat for not accepting what seemed to be
Barak's generous offer, which would have provided for an Israeli withdrawal
from almost all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and given the Palestinians
control over Christian and Muslim holy places in Jerusalem's Old City.
However, Barak's offer would have created several enclaves isolated from
one another, not a viable and independent Palestinian state. Arafat was
blamed for insisting on the Palestinians' "right of return," a claim that has
been repeated in resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly ever since - We doubt that many Palestinians alive now would exercise such a
claim to become, in effect, like the Israeli Arabs, but Arafat was a politician
who had to heed his constituents. He could not negate the rights of millions
of Palestinian refugees based on international law and UN resolutions. On
the other hand, one can understand why most Israelis hope to maintain the
predominantly Jewish character of their state, and why many Israelis and
Americans became exasperated with Arafat's intransigent negotiating style
at Camp David. It is often forgotten that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators
subsequently met in Sharm al-Shaykh and Taba, making further progress on
the details of a settlement (sweetening the terms for Palestinians), aided by
Clinton's "Bridging Document." Both Clinton and his chief negotiator, Den¬
nis Ross, have stated that the two sides came closer to a peace settlement in
2000 than they had before or anytime since then.
Intensification of the Conflict
Regrettably, time ran out on Clinton, and George W. Bush entered the
White House with a different agenda, one that reflected his evangelical
Christian commitment to a greater Israel. Influenced by neoconservatives
like Paul Wolfowitz and self-styled realists like Condoleezza Rice, Bush
sought to weaken Arafat, whom he blamed for the renewed violence that
followed the failure of the Camp David Summit, leading to fierce Israeli
reprisals and the election of hard-liner Ariel Sharon as Israel's new prime
minister. Sharon (whom Bush called "a man of peace," infuriating all who
recalled how he had been blamed by an Israeli investigatory commission
for the Shatila and Sabra massacres) became a frequent visitor to the White
House. Arafat, deemed a supporter of terrorism, was no longer welcome.
The "Bridging Document" was shelved. Later on, a "Road Map" to peace,
drafted by the US in consultation with Russia, the Europeans, and the UN,
foundered on Israel's refusal to stop expanding its West Bank settlements,
even though the proposals would have favored its interests more than Clin¬
ton's plan. The US government made no more pretence to being an honest
broker between Israelis and Palestinians.