Did Yasir Arafat plan the current Intifada?
There is no evidence of this. Contrary to media reports, Mr. Arafat was involved in peace negotiations for months before September 2000 and through January 2001. Mr. Arafat stood to gain less by fighting than by fair negotiations, since Israel had tanks, helicopter gun ships, attack airplanes and all the weapons of modern war. Palestinians had only rocks and a relatively few guns. The disparity in weaponry still largely exists. The authors of the Mitchell report (a fact-finding U.S. committee led by Senator George J. Mitchell) reviewed the allegations made and indicate they were not provided “with persuasive evidence that the PA (Palestinian Authority) planned the uprising. Accordingly, we have no basis on which to conclude that there was a deliberate plan by the PA to initiate a campaign of violence at the first opportunity?” What caused the second (or Al-Aqsa) Intifada? The underlying reason is the continuous 30-year Israeli military occupation of the West Bank (including East Jerusa
