The big international news today is that Israel has announced its intention to expel Yasir Arafat. It's pretty obvious even to a casual observer (ie me) that Yasir Arafat isn't part of the solution. That said, getting rid of him by force looks like a pretty terrible alternative to having him around. He himself isn't executing terrorist attacks. He may approve of them, and he may be providing some political cover, but it seems unlikely he's involved in actually organizing them. Be assured, there are people who will remain to carry out attacks, and their numbers will probably grow.
Will the Palestinians be allowed to choose his successor? If not (and the answer is almost certainly no) then the successor can't possibly be a serious negotiating partner, because the Palestinian goal of self determination can't logically be achieved without a leader who represents the people.
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