The Elusive 'Castle'.(Palestine-Israel relations)

Israel's Sept. 11 decision to "remove" the Palestinian leader, Yasir Arafat, is obviously self-defeating. Almost two years ago, Ariel Sharon's government declared Arafat "irrelevant," and persuaded the Bush administration to sideline him. Now Sharon has unwittingly brought his rival back to center stage. For now, the announcement is little more than theoretical statement of intention. Israel won't do anything to Arafat until the proper "timing and manner" of his departure can be worked out--a euphemism for doing nothing. This preoccupation with Arafat, however, masks the real importance of Israel's decision: once again, Sharon has chosen to put off any possible opening for talks. Arafat is clearly "relevant," but given the looming U.S. presidential election, Sharon will be under little pressure to compromise with him on a peace plan.

Since taking office in March 2001, the Israeli leader has portrayed himself as a moderate, pledging "painful concessions" for peace and conditionally accepting the Roadmap toward a Palestinian state. Optimistic souls still hope that Israel's old warrior has changed, and will eventually destroy his lifetime achievement, the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. Alas, they overlook the recurring pattern in Sharon's actual policy--ever-tougher preconditions for negotiations. Sharon's Palestinian state is like the castle in Franz Kafka's famed novel. The Palestinians may wish to get there, but they can't ever get permission to enter the driveway.

Time and again, Sharon has raised the ante for negotiations. At first he pledged not to talk under fire and demanded "full cessation of terror, violence and incitement." The next demand was for a thorough, multidimensional reform of the Palestinian Authority, including leadership change. More recently, Israel asked for a "dismantling of the terror ...