First of all, Arafat proved that Israel is vulnerable to terrorism. If, however, he successfully brings the terror to a halt, it should be clear to everyone that it is he, Arafat, not Hamas, Fatah or the Islamic Jihad that instigated the murder of Jews and the deaths of his own people.
Settlement then becomes a tenuous matter.
After giving the Palestinians more land and the right to declare statehood, there will probably be another intifada with even greater demands, and eventually to the point of Israel's destruction. Many feel betrayed by Sharon. There is no difference, they argue, between him and Barak. Barak was about to cede all but four percent of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount and would have permitted many so-called Palestinian refugees to live in Israel proper. They say that Sharon is as restrained against the Arabs as his predecessor and intimidated by the Americans, and his quick withdrawal from Gaza, following Colin Powell's strong words, showed his vulnerability to American demands.