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Other well-respected Israelis have also strongly opposed the Beirut siege. Abba Eban, the former Foreign Minister and onetime Ambassador to the U.S., declared in the Jerusalem Post: "This war is already on the way to becoming the most traumatic of all the Israeli experiences ... These weeks have been a dark age in the moral history of the Jewish people."
In the meantime, the political bureau of the opposition Labor Party passed a resolution "unequivocally opposing any military entry into Beirut as well as any military action geared to facilitating such an entry." The resolution reflected a decision by Labor to oppose the war openly, after several weeks of vacillation. Writing in the New York Times, Labor Party Leader Shimon Peres lamented "the erosion of the image of Israel as a result of artillery fire filmed by the world's television networks." He questioned whether the military gains were worth the price they had cost his country in lost prestige.
Terrible as it has been, the devastation of West Beirut seems to be a prelude to political settlement. The P.L.O. is committed to withdrawal; it has no choice. From its new headquarters, in Cairo or elsewhere, the organization will have reduced military power, but it will still receive support from the Saudis and the other gulf states, which have long backed Arafat and his Al-Fatah organization. In time, the P.L.O.'s political and diplomatic influence may well increase.
What is equally obvious is that, whatever the fate of the P.L.O., the problem of the Palestinians will not disappear. It has been present since the founding of Israel in 1948 and has been growing in intensity since Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the Six-Day War of 1967. The Camp David accords promised "autonomy" to the Palestinians, though Begin and Sharon often seem more imbued with the idea of annexation. To many Israelis, the thought of incorporating 1.3 million Arabs is a demographic nightmare for a country whose current population already includes 640,000 Israeli Arabs along with 3.3 million Jews. Largely for this reason, Opposition Leader Peres advocates negotiations among Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians (but not the P.L.O.) that would lead to the establishment of a Jordanian-Palestinian state. This he believes would not only resolve the Palestinian problem but assure the survival of Israel as "a Jewish, democratic state that does not aspire to rule another people."
The great irony of the invasion of Lebanon, and of the assault on West Beirut last week, is that the military victories may ultimately make Israeli security more uncertain. No Arab nation, or combination of Arab nations, can stand up to Israel on the battlefield. The popular frustration bred by this fact undermines governments and encourages the growth of radical groups that are implacably opposed to Israel's existence. Every time Israel tries to impose its will on the Arabs, its actions serve to unsettle the entire region. Many Arab governments may feel that the P.L.O. is a disruptive force that could harm them, but Palestine itself remains close to the heart of the Arab nations.