Fateful Triangle

The Palestinian Uprising846view as terrorist acts against Israel.” In short, the PLO should ensurethat the former status quo be restored. The ban on an internationalconference follows from the fact that the world is out of step, so thatparticipation of outside parties beyond the U.S. and its clients wouldlead to unacceptable pressure for a nonrejectionist political settlement.A few weeks later, in February 1989, Rabin had a meeting with fivePeace Now leaders in which he expressed his satisfaction with the U.S.-PLO dialogue. He described it as a “successful operation,” journalistNahum Barnea reported, involving only “low-level discussions” thatavoid any serious issue. The Americans are “now satisfied, and do notseek any [political] solution, and they will grant us a year, at least ayear” to resolve the situation in our own way. This way is force. “Theinhabitants of the territories are subject to harsh military and economicpressure,” Rabin explained: “In the end, they will be broken,” and theywill accept Israel’s terms. The Peace Now representatives were notconvinced that these tactics would work. No other objections arerecorded. 87Endorsing the essentials of this view, a high-level U.S. official,preparing for visits to Washington by Shamir and Foreign MinisterMoshe Arens, urged Israel to put an end to its public objections to thedialogue, which “only add significance” to it, increasing its importancebeyond the intended narrow bounds. The Bush Administration proposalsin early March, offering “suggestions” to Israel and the PLO,underscored the point. Israel was urged to limit the repressive measuresinstituted to suppress the Intifada; and the PLO, to terminate the“violent demonstrations” and the distribution of “inflammatory leaflets.”The proposal, then, is that the PLO cooperate with Israel in establishinga somewhat harsher version of the former status quo. 88These measures worked like a charm. News coverage of the occupiedterritories declined further, thus granting Israel the opportunity to act asClassics in Politics: The Fateful TriangleNoam Chomsky