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The limits of
restraint June 19, 2001 The question of how long Israel can endure ongoing Palestinian cease-fire violations without reacting seems to annoy Prime Minister Sharon. It suggests to him a shortness of breath of the Israeli people. "If we ask every day - how long? - we shall lose," Sharon said at last week's funeral of 5-month-old Yehuda Hayim Shoham, who died from injuries suffered in a stoning attack. "But if we know how to stand and clench our teeth," Sharon went on, "to continue even when tears fill our throats, we shall win." The questions remain hanging in the air: how shall we win -- and what shall we win? The cease-fire "agreement" looks more and more illusory with each passing day. Indeed, we now know that there was no agreement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority. The only papers signed were letters to CIA Director George Tenet by the respective side containing contradictory "understandings." Today, after the killing of two more Israeli motorists on Samarian roads, the PA confirmed what had been suspected previously. It considers the cease-fire only applicable to "Area A" -- parts of the West Bank and Gaza under its direct security control. Areas under the security control of Israel, including most of the roads on which Israeli travel in the territories, are fair game for Palestinian militants, including Arafat's own Fatah organization, factions of which took credit for yesterday's killings. The Israeli say that they agreed to a six-week "cooling off" period of no violence before "confidence-building" measures (Israeli political concession) can be implemented. The PA says they agreed to no such thing and insists on complete linking of political and security actions. There is also the issue of arrests of terrorists involved in attacks on Israel. The Israelis presented a "wanted" list of militants previously freed from PA jails or known to be involved in lethal attacks against Israeli targets. The list was studiously ignored. Indeed, the PA said that the only arrests it would consider making related to future attacks, according to its definition of attacks, and only then if Israel arrests Jewish settlers. And, indeed, the only arrests the PA has pursued relate to Palestinians responsible for attacks on Palestinians, as was the case in the killing of a 12-year-old boy last weekend. Israel can expect little or no help from the PA, nor from the Americans, who have so far avoided taking sides concerning the conflicting interpretations of the Tenet agreement. In any case, it is unclear what additional leverage the Americans -- or for that matter the Europeans -- are willing to exert over Arafat. His explicit strategy is to "control the height of the flames," permit attacks in areas under Israeli control, and try to achieve political objectives in negotiations "under fire" and under international supervision. His proposal will be: give me control over more territory and I will provide more security for those areas. It is not a proposition that the Israeli government is likely to accept. But what are its alternatives? Yesterday the Prime Minister said that he did not intend to lead the nation to armed conflict. "War can only be the last resort and nothing justifies it in the current situation," Sharon stated. But with all due respect to Sharon for his admirable restraint, and his soothing and responsible words, the reality of Israel's situation is that the war has come to us. Currently it takes the form of a war of attrition, with the nation's most vulnerable -- Jewish settlers in the territories, and civilian victims of bombing attacks in our cities -- bearing the brunt of the violence. Tourism is virtually non-existent, investment is down, the national mood is at an all-time low. Sharon's patience may be tactical -- he told Jewish leaders yesterday that the situation could become "unbearable" -- and he could be waiting, as Israel Radio reported, until after he returns from a planned visit to the United States next week to take decisive action. One should not understate the advantage of having tacit American and European understanding -- if not active support -- for decisive Israeli military action in response to clear Palestinian violations of the cease-fire. But one gets the feeling that Israel has yielded the initiative, has boxed itself into a corner, and is helpless to do anything unless confronted with the kind of massive terrorist attack that briefly commanded world attention to the brutality and viciousness of our adversary. The Israeli public has not been prepared for the goals of a prospective military action. But neither is it prepared to endure an indefinite perpetuation of the current situation, in which civilians on either side of the Green Line are shot down or blown up without a response from our government or a coherent policy other than "wait and see." The Israeli government's confidence-building
measures must start with the Israeli public. There is a limit to restraint,
and citizens have a right to know what is beyond that limit. Sharon must
define what "we shall win" and how he intends to achieve that
victory.
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