A Brief Guide for the Perplexed 21
“ right of return ” for Palestinian refugees and their generations of descendants . Arafat surely knew that this was an instant dealbreaker , since no Israeli government could ever conceivably allow millions of Palestinians to settle in Israel and thus totally undermine the Jewish character of the state .
In his autobiography My Life , Clinton recounts this period and puts the blame squarely on Arafat for the failure of the peace talks . When Arafat told Clinton he was “ a great man ” at the end of his second term in the White House , the American leader replied : “ I am not a great man . I am a failure . And you made me one .”
Tragically , Arafat revealed himself incapable or unwilling , or both , of pursuing peace at the negotiating table . Instead , he returned to a more familiar pattern — on occasion talking peace while consistently encouraging terrorism .
Arafat understood that the media images of heavily-armed Israeli troops facing Palestinians in the streets , including children cynically sent to the front lines , would work to his advantage . Israel would be cast in the role of aggressor and oppressor , the Palestinians as downtrodden victims .
It wouldn ’ t be long , he calculated , before the Arab world would angrily denounce Israel , the nonaligned countries would dutifully follow suit , the Europeans would urge still more concessions from Israel to placate the Palestinians , international human rights groups would accuse Israel of excessive force , and the world , plagued by a short memory , would forget that the Palestinian leader had just spurned an unprecedented chance to strike a peace deal .
Arafat wasn ’ t entirely wrong . Much of the media , many European governments , and the majority of human rights groups played right into his hands . It was only after his death , in 2004 , that some , though not all , of them finally realized they had been duped by the wily , corrupt leader whom they had inexplicably chosen to