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Beirut, Tunis and Ramallah form a pattern in which, every 10 years, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat buries himself in his own political hole only to be rescued by foreign intervention. Consider:
• Beirut 1982. After prompting a full-scale retaliatory attack from the Israeli army, Palestinian forces begin to retreat. As the Israelis advance to Beirut, Arafat finds refuge in the vault of the Bank Nationale de Paris. Only international intervention can save him from Ariel Sharon’s hands.
During the following 10 days, some 10,000 Palestinian fighters prepare to depart Lebanon. They arrive at the seaport — under international protection – where they board Greek ships displaying the flag of the United Nations, courtesy of then-Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar.
Arafat’s safety is guaranteed by officials of the Red Cross, the United Nations and the ambassadors of Greece and France, each of whom accompany the PLO leader as he approaches the port. Hidden in the shadows, Israeli snipers follow Arafat’s every move through their rifle lenses, waiting for the order that would never come. Secret cameras allow Israeli intelligence officers to watch Arafat as he disappears over the horizon, safely on his way to Tunisia.
• Tunis 1992. Having sided with Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War, the PLO finds itself politically isolated and bankrupt. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia cut ties with the PLO and expel 300,000 Palestinian workers.
Meanwhile, the Islamic fundamentalist movement, Hamas, is gaining support among the Palestinians in the territories, posing a threat to the PLO leadership. The first intifada is waning. Israel remains as strong as ever. But at this point and with Norwegian mediation, the Israelis choose to rescue the PLO from its imminent descent into historical irrelevance.
Rightly seeing the Oslo Accords as a political life vest, the Palestinian organization learns to speak in the language of «peace,» «recognition» and «reconciliation.» Two years later, the exiled PLO departs Tunisia to rule most of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Once again, Arafat has been rehabilitated.
• Ramallah 2002. Confined to his Ramallah headquarters, surrounded by Israeli tanks, isolated from the rest of the world, Arafat is again under military siege. After a spate of horrific suicide bombings, Sharon calls him «the enemy» and declares that Israel is «at war.» The Palestinian leader defiantly proclaims that he is ready to become a shahid —martyr — yet he rushes to his bunker to make telephone calls urging the international community to come to his rescue. Typically, the world community defers to his request.
While the media protest Israel’s incursion into the autonomous areas, the U.N. Security Council passes a resolution calling for Israel’s withdrawal. As ambassadors complain about Israel’s defensive measures, «peace activists» arrive at Arafat’s headquarters to lend moral support.
Colorfully, filmmaker Oliver Stone, novelist José Saramago and anti-globalization radical José Bové pay visits to Arafat. Emboldened, Europe sends a delegation to «unblock the logjam» in the Middle East. In an unexpected speech, President Bush urges Israel to withdraw immediately from the territories. The following day, U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni pays a visit to «General Arafat,» as the Palestinian leader calls himself now. Shortly afterward, Secretary of State Colin Powell, too, visits the Palestinian leader.
A triumphant Arafat happily welcomes each one of them; his saviors have returned.
What’s next? Although Arafat is legendary for his survival skills, much of the credit for his political and personal longevity rests with the international community and some Israelis who seem determined to rescue him regardless of how often, deeply and nonsensically he gets himself into political quicksand.
Despite all the drama surrounding his «isolation,» these are not the chairman’s last days. Thanks to his rescuers, we are just witnessing yet another phase in Arafat’s political saga of survival.
Julián Schvindlerman is a political analyst and journalist in Washington D.C.