Do the Palestinians Need New Leaders?
Palestinians are re-evaluating some of the positions adopted by their leadership during the Gulf war, but they are nonetheless aware that these positions enjoyed the fervent support of Palestinians living in the occupied territories and in Jordan. If mistakes were made, they reflect joint choices of the Palestinian people and their leadership, and, despite the severity of the economic hardships currently endured in the occupied territories as a result of choices made in the war, Chairman Yasser Arafat and the PLO have never been more popular there. When members of the US administration propose that Palestinians need new leadership, the implication is that if the old leadership would somehow fade into the background, the US would “view with favor” the establishment of a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza. If the US is willing to support the liberation of the Israeli-occupied territories—even if it is with less zeal than this was pursued in Kuwait—the US should say so plainly an
