Op-Ed Column by Yossi Sarid - Haaretz Jan 18, 2006 12
http://www.haaretz.com/take-note-the-right-prefers-a-deal-1.62525

...In the past I was wrong in not criticizing Yasser Arafat on time. Arafat
was never a personal friend...Arafat seemed a reasonable partner - when he
was the first Palestinian leader to recognize the State of Israel and agree
to a partition of the country. Eventually, he began to delude and deceive
the entire world, and at a certain point it became clear that we would not
get very far with him. Or even close. That was the time to disassociate from
him.

So, why didn't we? Because we always hoped he would mend his ways and get
back on the righteous path. He was an elected president, elected by the
Palestinian people, and the free and sovereign choice of another nation, a
neighbor. How would Israel respond had the Palestinians ruled out Ariel
Sharon as a partner? And they certainly had good reason to do so.

Between the trickery of Arafat and Sharon, the intifada broke out, the
terror struck, buses and cafes were blown up. Here and over there people
were killed, and the Israeli left was stuck with Arafat as if it was his
guarantors. It was impossible to swallow the "chairman" but we also did not
throw him up. He remained in office until he died. Politically, we died
before him.

In Arafat's day there was an argument: does he want to make progress and
can't, or can he make progress but does not want to. As for his successor,
Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), there's no dispute; he certainly wants and he
certainly can't. The anarchy in the Palestinian Authority is absolute,
brother against brother, and the chairman's own party, Fatah, is torn. ...