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Coverage of the Events since October 2000
Hände weg von Israel und Islam!
Weekly Commentary: Arafat's Revolving Prison Door Replaced By Abu Mazen's Police Recruiting Office?
2005-02-03
During the glory days of Oslo Arafat practiced a "revolving prison door" policy, arresting wanted terrorists only to release them at the first opportunity.
And Abu Mazen today? He intends to send the terrorists to the recruiting offices of the PA security forces,
Disarm the terrorists? Hardly. He wants to issue them PA weapons in exchange for their written promise to temporarily behave themselves.
Temporarily.
As Israel Television Channel One correspondent Oded Granot reported on Mabat this week, Abu Mazen promised Hamas "that if everything falls apart that they can return to the path of armed struggle."
Don't be confused by the mantra that Abu Mazen opposes terror. He opposes ineffective terror.
The mask is off on the entire Oslo experience.
Yitzhak Rabin insisted as a condition for starting Oslo that Arafat solemnly commit in writing not to use violence.
And when Oslo started it was clear that those who violated this would not get a free pass. Two years into Oslo then Minister of Environment Yossi Sarid (Meretz) told me that "anyone who did something after the 13th of September [1993 Declaration of Principles] is out of the deal. They will not qualify for release."
Abu Mazen now denies the validity and significance of Arafat's promise. A promise that was reiterated in every Oslo document signed in the photo-op ceremonies that followed.
In Abu Mazen's view, the terrorists who violated that commitment aren't criminals who should be punished. They are national heroes.
It wasn't intrinsically wrong to murder Israelis after Oslo - just possibly counterproductive.
And what of the future?
Wanted terrorists transformed into armed cops?
Pressure to put the terrorists Israel now holds back into circulation so that they can act when things "fall apart"?
Hardly encouraging developments.
Source: IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis
