From state terrorism to roguery

Tel Aviv's no-holds-barred obsession with Arafat ranged from air strikes on his headquarters in Ramallah earlier on through laying siege around him to cripple his authority to issuing an open threat now for his banishment. This is state terrorism degenerating further into a roguery status.

The outrageous Israeli move is explained away by them as a rapid response to suicide bombings in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem which killed 15 Israelis on Tuesday. Arafat allegedly gave green light to the militant attacks. The charge is not substantiated. For all one knows, Israel has been stoking fire by carrying out a series of blitzkrieg air raid on Hamas in Gaza.

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There is universal condemnation of Israeli decision to expel Arafat from his homeland. The major global players and backers of the road map for Middle East peace, such as, the United States, European Union, France, China and Russia have denounced the Israeli perversity in no unmistakable terms. But the critics have their own perspectives. For instance, much that the US administration refuses to work with Arafat, it has firmly opposed expelling him because it would give him 'a wider international stage'.

The Arab world is apprehensive of violence all over Palestinian territories and beyond. It could set off 'an uncontrollable chain of events in the worst case scenario', added a Russian statement.

One thing is certain that Arafat's expulsion wouldn't help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis peacefully. But it's the USA who for the umpteenth time is on test to be chastening Tel Aviv for its highly culpable misconduct in international affairs.