His Palestine Liberation Organization gambits to become the de facto leader in Jordan and later in Lebanon dragged both countries into civil war. Absent in this portrait is a long list of atrocities committed by Fatah and PLO member groups under Arafat's helm. As with many other recent in-depth reports about Arafat, no mention is made, for example, of the 1970 attack on a school bus in Nahariya, the 1972 murder of civilians in Lod airport, the 1972 massacre of Israel's Olympic athletes, the 1974 massacres at Kiryat Shmona and Ma'alot, and the 1978 slaughter of civilians on Israel's coastal road. The Time report ignored PLO attempts to mail letter bombs to the U.S. president and other top officials, the murder of two U.S. diplomats in Sudan, and the 1985 hijacking of an Italian cruise ship which involved the murder of an elderly, wheelchair-bound American Jew. But Arafat is getting a little old to lead another guerilla war.
Time provides absolutely zero detail about any of the terrorism incidents listed above.
The Time article deals with the issue of the crippled Palestinian economy, but only in passing mentions the egregious corruption on the part of Arafat and his aides. Half a billion dollars would keep some discontent at bay. Although MacLeod doesn't explain, Arab states do have good reason to be concerned about corruption. Democracy is needed,' says Haider Abdel Shafi. While the Temple Mount is the third holiest site in Islam, it is the holiest site in Judaism, where the First and Second Temples once stood and the location of the Holy of Holies.