The Intifada Is Over

The Palestinian Intifada II is finished.

It ended with last weekend's spasm of suicide bombings against Israeli kids — a signal that the Palestinian national movement was being taken over by bin Ladenism, which is the nihilistic pursuit of murderous violence against civilians, without any political program and outside of any political context. If there is anything left of the Palestinian national movement for independence, it better act now to rescue itself. Otherwise it's headed for the same dark cave as Osama bin Laden.

How so? Actually, I thought Intifada II was idiotic from the start. Why? Context. It came in the face of the most far-reaching U.S. and Israeli offers ever for a Palestinian state. While those offers of more than 90 percent of the West Bank, Gaza and part of East Jerusalem may not have been sufficient for Palestinians, they were a serious opening bid. The right response was a Palestinian overture to the Israeli people to persuade them to give up 100 percent — not murderous violence. That's still true. Two weeks ago a Gallup Poll showed nearly 60 percent of Israelis favoring a Palestinian state — a remarkable figure after a year of violence. Also, President Bush just publicly endorsed the idea of a Palestinian state.

In other words, it's not as if Palestinians' aspirations were being ignored and their only alternative was violence. The Israeli silent majority and the world's silent majority were both poised for a serious deal, and had Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spurned a Palestinian peace bid he would have been swept aside. But instead, Palestinians offered a suicide package. It leads to only one conclusion: that the priority of the Palestinians is not achieving an independent state. Their priority, apparently, is to kill Jews and get revenge for Israel's assassination of a Hamas leader whose only claim to fame was organizing previous suicide bombings — a regular Thomas Jefferson.

So Intifada II, which was supposedly an uprising to prompt Israel to give Palestinians 100 percent of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, has morphed into Bin Laden II, a Palestinian attempt to eliminate 100 percent of Israel. There are authentic Arab and Muslim voices who understand how self-destructive this is. Take The Jordan Times, which said in its editorial Monday: "There is mounting sympathy worldwide, even solid support for the Palestinians' legitimate fight for independence and freedom. . . . But resorting to suicide attacks that have mainly targeted civilians has been harmful to the cause itself."

Arab leaders know this too, but they won't speak the truth to the Palestinians. Sad. Because if it is impossible anymore for Arab-Muslim leaders to distinguish between Palestinian resistance directed at military targets and tied to a specific peace proposal, and terrorism designed to kill kids, without regard to a peace plan or political alternatives, then over time no moral discourse will be possible between America and the Arabs. You can already see the cleavage starting, with the White House's unqualified defense of Israel's retaliation.

Mr. Sharon is right to send the Arabs and the world the message that Israel is going to do whatever it takes to defend itself. But he would make a huge error — huge — if he eliminated Yasir Arafat. That is a job for Palestinians. Israel should not take ownership of their misfortune, and Mr. Arafat and his leadership are their misfortune. They need to face up to that. Mr. Sharon's job is to dispel any fantasies they have about eliminating Israel and to make clear that if Palestinians adopt a different leadership, with a different approach, Israel will offer them a fair and dignified peace.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which keep telling America that Israel is the problem, need to help now too — by giving Palestinians support and cover for a fair compromise. America just told Israel publicly that it must end settlements, end the occupation and accept a Palestinian state to end the conflict. When will Egypt and Saudi Arabia tell the Palestinians publicly that their game is up and they have to accept a Jewish state and end the conflict? (When will they tell themselves?)

Because if they won't, if they only blame Israel and sit by while the Palestinian national movement is hijacked by Hamas and Islamic Jihad — which want no end of the conflict except when all Jews are gone — then America too will retreat and simply adopt the view that Israel's occupation is a matter of self-defense, and may the stronger nation win.