Drawing on anecdotes from former Mideast negotiator Dennis Ross, The Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes identifies and crystallizes the three myths Yasser Arafat propogates about the “peace” deals he turned down. What’s revealed (and who could expect otherwise, at this point?) is a study in Arafractious duplicity. Concludes Barnes:

What’s important about the history of peace talks in the Middle East is what it tells us about Arafat. The inescapable conclusion is that he will never reach a settlement with Israelis leading to two countries, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace. The Israelis? An honest recounting of the Clinton-led peace talks shows they were willing, though hardly eager, to make substantial concessions to reach a settlement. Had Arafat gone along, Ross believes Barak could have sold the deal to the Israeli people, even as Palestinian terrorism continued and Sharon’s election victory loomed. Maybe so, but that was a moment in time that, because of Arafat, has now passed away.

Yet he remains, the cuddly Terror Token still dear to the hearts of Euro-elites, even as the Arab children he’s raised in squalor and inculcated with race hatred explode like fleshy firecrackers in the streets and shops of Israel…

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