A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews.

 
Who Won The War?

There has been debate in Israel about whether Israel or the Palestinians won the war waged by Arafat in September 2000. While such discussion may be premature, as it assumes the war to be over, among Palestinians consideration of this issue is also occurring.

In today's Jordan Times, Daoud Kuttab writes that "there is no doubt that Palestinians were badly bruised during the past two and a half years. The Palestinian economy is in ruins, the infrastructure in shambles and people's faith in the leadership and in the eventuality of peace has been dealt a bad blow. The hard work of erasing the terrorism image of the 70s has been wasted as that image has returned to haunt the Palestinians. And the Israelis have not ended their occupation of Palestinian lands.

"But for better or worse, the Palestinians have not surrendered, they have not thrown in the towel, and despite hurting all over, they remain standing.

"Israelis are also bruised, their economy is also hurt (not as much as the Palestinians') and their confidence in peace is still rather low. The powerful Israeli military machine has not won the battle on the ground, as Israeli soldiers, settlers and civilians continued to be killed and injured. While Israel can't claim to have won the battle, it has not lost it either. Some would call the result a draw.

"To be honest I would say that the Palestinians have lost the latest round in points rather than through a knockout, which means that they still have a chance to regroup themselves."

Kuttab's assessment about the war itself is about right, but ignores the context in which it was waged. Following Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the PA believed that it could force Israel to withdraw unilaterally from Judea and Samaria through violence and/or force Israel to make concessions on refugees at the negotiating table. The Palestinians could have had a state on most of Judea and Samaria, and parts of Jerusalem, yet refused to accept Barak's concessions or the Clinton Plan and instead resorted to violence. That they are "still standing" and "still have a chance to regroup" does not change the fact that they could have achieved much of what they claim to strive for without the damage they caused to themselves and to Israelis. As a result, while there is no victor in the war, the Palestinians are the clear loser.
posted on 7/18/2003