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Last update - 01:18 16/09/2001
Opportunity for clarification
 

The terrible scale of the attack on America makes it not only the biggest incident in the history of modern terror, but also serves those who wish to see it as a sign of the yawning chasm between civilizations: the culture of those who adopt murder as a legitimate tool to advance their no less murderous ideas, versus the culture of tolerance and progress.

But there is no need to adopt this particular description of the attack as the pinnacle of the clash of civilizations. It seems more correct to say that this is a permanent war between those who are prepared to kill for the sake of an idea, and those who are prepared to use democratic tools to justify their path. This distinction is important at this time for the practical purposes of a precise and justified war on terrorism: to identify the enemy, to inflict damage and to neutralize his supporters.

This rule applies not only in the global war against global terrorism, but also in those same regional and local battles in which terrorism has become the preferred weapon. Sometimes, at least in the eyes of certain players, it is even considered legitimate. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the clearest example of this. The Palestinian use of terrorism against civilian targets rests on supposed idea-based arguments in an attempt to justify and legitimize terrorism.

Leaders of local movements and organizations must now declare anew their position. Are they part of global terrorism through their acceptance of local terror as a legitimate method, or are they part of those fighting terror as it is now understood and defined in light of the destroyed American buildings?

Among those who must make this decision is Yasser Arafat, who must decide whether he is prepared to withdraw his support for all terrorist organizations and acts of terror carried out in the name of the legitimate Palestinian desire for independence and an end to the occupation. Is he prepared to return to the path of the struggle for peace, to the rational confrontation that is acceptable between states? Or will he continue to supply pretexts, direct or indirect, for the terrorists to use as they wish to conduct the struggle - and thus to sully the name of the entire Palestinian movement as a producer of terrorism?

A meeting between Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat, which has caused such a vociferous debate in Israel, could provide the opportunity to test the nature of this competition. This is a vital meeting and it is very important that it takes place now to help determine whether Arafat is willing and able to come down from the dizzy heights of his mythological image as a Palestinian leader who will settle for no less than the fanatical realization of a Palestinian utopia. Will the shock he expressed following the attack also be translated into diplomatic efforts, or is it just another one of his illusions?

This question is not just a test for Arafat. The end to the local cycle of terror also necessitates a brave response from Israel to the Palestinians in the form of a fair peace plan, one that will allow both sides to move from the armed struggle to the negotiating table
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