ISRAEL

ISRAEL
Jerusalem Post, April 24: Sadly the world has grown all too accustomed to justifying or tolerating Palestinian atrocities. Despite 18 months of ongoing terror against innocent Israeli civilians much of the international community continues to excuse the inexcusable. But as yesterday's brutal triple murder in Hebron clearly demonstrated, the PA has yet to conduct itself even remotely according to recognized standards of human rights and the rule of law.
Indeed, dozens of Palestinians have been killed by fellow Palestinians in the current intefadah, many because of their alleged contact with Israel. The Hebron killings -- which came less than 24 hours after a similar murder in Ramallah -- are but the latest in a series of such assaults, all of which seem to follow the same ghastly pattern. The victims are not put on trial, they are given no rights, nor are they able to confront their accusers. They are simply murdered in cold blood, and the perpetrators are never brought to account for their actions.
Hand-wringing
Diplomats and policy-makers abroad may have the luxury of wringing their hands and regarding such incidents as merely "troubling" but Israel can ill afford to view them so lightly. The PA has been waging an intefadah against Israelis, and it is now waging an intra-fada against its internal opponents. Arafat's reign of terror must be brought to an end before it consumes still more innocent victims -- both Israeli and Palestinian. Until the PA's lethal blend of violence stops, it must be disqualified from achieving statehood.
BRITAIN
Daily Telegraph, London, April 23: On cue, Europe's leaders have piled in against Jean-Marie Le Pen.
Mindful of the disastrous effect of their response to Jorg Haider's victory in Austria three years ago, they have been careful not to threaten sanctions. But the message is clear: French voters have behaved abominably, their decision is unacceptable, and M. Le Pen's modest success is a challenge to the entire European project.
The old bruiser's election is indeed a challenge to the European project; but not quite in the way that the Euro-leaders intend. For the truth is that M. Le Pen, like other anti-establishment demagogues around Europe, is a product of the EU system. Supporters of European integration often claim that it discourages extremism. To the extent that it prevents radical parties from either wing from implementing their manifestoes, this is true. But there is a downside. As more powers are transferred to Brussels, voters begin to sense that they are losing control of their futures. Sick of the ideological consensus of their governing parties, despairing of being listened to, they are driven to support politicians opposed to the entire system.
Crumbling outer shell
M. Le Pen is much clearer about what he is against than what he is for. That is why it is so hard to picture him in office. If, by some unhappy miracle, he were to win the presidency on May 5, there is very little chance that he would really bring back the French franc or restore the death penalty. The real significance of M. Le Pen's success on Sunday lies in what it tells us about the state of the French democracy. The ideals of the Fifth Republic, as conceived by de Gaulle, have been gradually eroded by the EU. The president is no longer sovereign, either in economic affairs or foreign policy, while Euro-regionalism has undermined the unity of the state. No wonder French voters have ceased to take the office seriously.
JORDAN
The Jordan Times, Amman, April 21: In what can only be described as an insufficient but still important first step, the U.N. Security Council has voted to send a fact-finding mission to the Jenin refugee camp. What should have been an investigation team was reduced to a fact-finding mission under pressure from the United States which has admitted that what happened in Jenin was a human tragedy.
The U.N. team and all the other human rights organizations that have condemned and protested the terrorist acts of Israel's army will not ease the suffering of camp residents who have to live with the pain and trauma of seeing their kin killed and their livelihood destroyed.
But the team can expose the shocking proportions of the crimes Israel has committed.
Master manipulator
Israel has always been a master at manipulating international public opinion. It has perfected a system of propaganda that can misrepresent facts and show the victim as the aggressor. It will do everything it can to pre-empt the work of the fact finding team by spreading lies and fabrications about what really happened in Jenin.
If Israel is found guilty of war crimes, and it will by those who choose to see the truth, it must be punished.
BRAZIL
Folha de Sao Paulo, April 20: President George W. Bush is wrong when he says that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is a man of peace. It is exactly the opposite. Sharon is a hard-line soldier who voted against peace every time he could. He voted against the peace treaty with Egypt in 1979. He voted against withdrawing from southern Lebanon in 1985. He opposed Israeli participation in the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference. He also opposed the Oslo agreement in 1992.
Gloomy military achievement
His list of military achievement is no less gloomy. Sharon will also be remembered because of Jenin. It is early to say there was a massacre in that refugee camp, but there is no doubt that at least the Geneva convention was disrespected.
To say as did President Bush that he is a man of peace is an affront that gives reason to those who think the United States favors Israel against the Palestinians. That is no contribution to the diplomatic efforts to bring peace to the Middle East.