Carrots should be offered to Arafat to induce him to comply with his commitments, but they should be accompanied by a big stick. Incentives without putative sanctions may not be enough to induce Arafat into a pattern of behavior with which we can live. Moreover, Israel should maintain the military capability to act effectively and unilaterally against terror, or additional security challenges from other quarters. This is how the international game in the Middle East is played. IT is a strategic fallacy to attach great importance to agreements and to believe that political entities are bound by signed accords.
States abide by treaties only as long as it is in their interest to do so.
In 1975, Saddam Hussein signed a treaty with Iran. He broke it in 1980 when he believed he had an advantage over his neighbor, which was in the throes of a revolution. The Turks often complain about numerous breaches of Syrian President Assad of bilateral agreements. Arafat is no different from the other rulers in the region in his flexible approach to interpreting formal commitments. Therefore, Israel should not hesitate to disregard specific provisions of the Oslo agreements if they are abused by the Palestinian Authority.