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Arafat cannot hope to compete with Sharon in this game. Sharon has laid trap after trap for him going back to before Sharon was PM, and Arafat falls into every one. This is the last trap. Sharon is a master chess player and has maneuvered carefully. Arafat is in check, and he's about to be check-mated.

Sharon has gone around and cleaned up a lot of weapons caches, the tunnels, the bomb factory... but he has allowed these missiles to be deployed. Sharon knows that as soon as the missiles fly, he will get the green light to wipe the PA out.

Arafat probably has a few other tricks up his sleeve. He may order an assault on Jerusalem or another Israeli town in conjunction with these missile attacks -- but they cannot hope to prevail. It will be his last hurrah, to be martyred for Jerusalem, which his people will now never have a part of.

When Israel "finally" does the inevitable, I hope it's with a 500 pounder or greater. The last thing we need is a body for the Palestinians to worship.

And that will be fitting. The man who has singlehandedly been the worst thing to ever happen to the Palestinians doesn't deserve to be planted in a respectable manner.

I am convinced that the Israelis care more about the average Palestinian that Arafat does. They have been very careful to try not to hit innocents with their retaliations. Arafat on the otherhand has trashed a descent economy which has resulted in much pain for his people. And this in the face of an offer that would have seen the Palestinians with their own state, recognized by Israel and the rest of the world.

The Palestinians would have a thriving economy rivaling that of Israel if it weren't for one man.