What's Next?
Ze’ev Schiff from Haaretz is worried about the dangers of a political vacuum in the P.A.

He says that, “If the government of Israel, or any of its cabinet ministers, has a political vision and a far-reaching strategic conception, now would be the appropriate moment to make it known - and not in the form of a virtual show to get some headlines, but as an appeal to the Arab world and to the Palestinian public by means of generous proposals for an immediate interim agreement and negotiations on a permanent settlement.

[…] experience shows that if these opportunities are not seized, a bigger wave of terror always follows, bringing in its wake a more vigorous and more extensive Israeli military operation. This could happen again, if Operation Determined Path ends without a political initiative.”

He describes the gradual escalation of hostilities that “began with mass demonstrations and assaults on IDF outposts” and reached the point of “massive suicide bombing, the IDF's incursions into the refugee camps and the temporary seizure of Palestinian cities which could last for months.”

He warns of being “encouraged by the demonstrations mounted by hungry Palestinians in the Gaza Strip this week” because “even if they were aimed at the Palestinian Authority, what they show is the existence of a highly-volatile situation which, when it explodes, will affect Israel as well as Arafat.”