Arafat – Houdini, Petain, or De Gaulle?

This is a really especially well written article from Charles Glass, the Middle East writer. He points out that Arafat has survived military actions against him by an array of Middle Eastern leaders. Over the past few decades all these people have at one time or another tried to eliminate him:

• King Hussein of Jordan
• Prime Minister Sharon of Israel
• President Assad of Syria
• Prime Minister Sharon of Israel (again!)

Yet he keeps on surviving. When he’s under attack, he becomes a De Gaulle figure to many Palestinians. When escaping, he imitates Harry Houdini. Yet his escapes usually involve the sacrifice of many Palestinians, or their aspirations. In these moments of accommodation with his regional rivals, he becomes more like a P?tain, the French World War 1 hero who agreed to administrate Vichy France for the Germans during World War 2.

For seven years, Arafat was the Palestinian P?tain. Sharon’s violent policies transformed him for a moment into De Gaulle. Palestinians in Ramallah cheered the man who stood up to the Israeli bombardment. One week later, the refugees in Jenin booed the man who jailed dissenters, tortured opponents, protected the settlements and allowed his officials carte blanche to steal.