LONDON -- Hamas has had a very good weekend. The suicide bomb attacks that killed at least 25 people in Jerusalem and Haifa last Saturday and Sunday have driven any last remaining thoughts of a compromise peace settlement with the Palestinians out of the minds of most Israelis. Since the Islamic extremists of Hamas are dead set against such a peace, that is just what they wanted.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was not exactly searching for a pretext to reopen peace negotiations anyway, has also gained from the tragedy. He seized the opportunity to declare Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat an enemy with whom Israel could not longer do business. "Arafat is responsible for everything that happens," declared Sharon.
Does he really believe that? Certainly not, unless Israeli intelligence has suddenly gone stupid. But it clearly suits Sharon's purposes to head off potential American pressures for new peace talks by blaming everything on Arafat and declaring him an unacceptable negotiating partner.