Oslo: Arafat's Trojan Horse

In 1993, many in the world were hopeful that peace between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization was finally at hand, but the truth was, it was all a lie.  Arafat never intended to make peace.  The Palestinian Authority has rejected every offer for peace and has violated the 1993 Oslo Accord by not removing the calls for the destruction of the nation of Israel from its charter, nor have they taken matters to halt the funding and encouragement of terrorist attacks, despite promising to do so.

While he claiming to desire peace, Arafat repeatedly contradicted this when he met with Arab leaders.  When speaking to the leaders of Arab nations, Arafat vowed to drive all the Jews from Jerusalem, even if it took 100 years.  He further stated that the 1993 Oslo Accord was in truth nothing more than another “Treaty of Hudaybiyyah,” which was an agreement signed by the Islamic prophet Muhammad with the city of Mecca in which the two factions pledged not to fight each other for 10 years.  However, within two years, Muhammad broke the treaty and conquered the city (Arafat proclaimed this on Egyptian TV on April 18, 1998 and to the Palestinian Legislative Council on May 15, 2002).   Top Palestinian Authority official Faisal al-Husseini confirmed this, calling the Oslo Accords a “Trojan Horse.”  

The sad reality is that Arafat made his long-term plans very clear in the immediately after signing the Olso Accord when he informed Arab leaders in Stockholm “We the PLO will now concentrate all our efforts in splitting Israel into two camps.  Within five years we will have 6-7 million Arabs in the West Bank and Jerusalem.  The PLO plans to eliminate the State of Israel and establish a purely Palestinian State.  We will make life unbearable for the Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion.  Jews won’t want to live among us Arabs.”  Abu Iyad, one of Arafat’s chief deputies, stated that under the “Phased Plane” the Palestinian state will be a stage in our prolonged struggle for the liberation of Palestine on all its territories.  This includes the land that was formed the sovereign state of Israel prior to the 6-Day War of 1967.  

Arafat's deception became undeniably clear at the 2000 Camp David Accord.  At this summit, Arafat was offered 95% of the West Bank, all of Gaza, a capital in East Jerusalem, control of the Temple Mount, & $30 billion to help refugees.  Many, including Prince Bander of Saudi Arabia urged  Arafat to take the deal, and all sides grew angry that Arafat rejected the offer and chose war.   Arafat's refusal to even make a counteroffer to the proposals issued in the Camp David Accord and decision to launch the 2nd Intifada is clear evidence that he had no desire to establish lasting peace with Israel.  Arafat's paymaster Faud Shubaki confessed in 2006 that Arafat used international aid money to purchase weapons for terrorist attacks.   To eliminate any and all doubt about what Arafat's true goals were, when the Mayor of Bethlehem proposed a truce during the Intifada, Arafat stated “Whoever thinks of stopping the Intifada before it achieves its goal I will give 10 bullets in the chest.” The Palestinian Authority under Abbas has continued this policy.  The terrorist attacks are still ongoing, and Israel’s continued offers of peace have been met with nothing but a mixture of terrorism and increased demands. 

In truth, this deliberate deception by Arafat should not come as a surprise.  Arafat was infamous for his lies and back-stabbing policies.  King Hussein of Jordan himself stated that "Arafat never came to a bridge that he didn't double-cross." The reality is that it’s common for Arabs to say one thing but mean another.  This is done during numerous peace negotiations with Israel.  When Arafat kept saying yes, he really meant something else.   Even Arab to Arab relations fall into this.  When Nasser told King Hussein that “yes” we are winning the 1967 War, King Hussein joined, only to find out later that Nasser was lying.  This cost him the West Bank.  Lying to protect family, community, or culture is a virtue.  It is actually rewarded in many cases.  It's time to stop deluding ourselves.  The Palestinian Authority can not, and will not, be appeased.  Withdraw & compromise does not appease Jihadist terrorists, it encourages them.  Attacks have only continued after Israel withdrew from much of the West Bank, South Lebanon, & Gaza.  Appeasement only strengthened & emboldened terrorists.  This is why the Two-State Solution has failed for over 90 years.

Sources:

Dershowitz, Alan.  The Case for Israel.  Hoboken, NJ: John Riley & Sons Inc., 2003.

Darwish, Nonie.  Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror.  New York: Penguin Group, 2006.

Gabriel, Brigitte.  They Must Be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It.  New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2009.

Glick, Caroline.  The Israeli Solution.  New York: Crown Forum, 2014.

Gold, Dore.  The Fight for Jerusalem.  Washington D.C.: Regnery Publishing Inc., 2007.

Saada, Tass and Dean Merrill.  Once an Arafat Man.  Clarksville, Tennessee: Riggins International Rights Service, Inc., 2008.

Yousef, Mosab Hassan.  Son of Hamas.  Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Momentum, 2010.