PALESTINE...THE FAILED STATE THAT WAS NEVER A STATE

First came the years of terror. One of Abu Abbas' more brilliant failures came in 1990. It featured a fleet of rubber boats used to land terrorists on a Tel Aviv beach, where they were supposed to wipe out sunbathers. It was characteristic of his M.O. - bold, clever, and confined to civilian targets. (As in the case of the Achille Lauro, he scrupulously avoided military ones.)

Then came the outward conversion to peace. Remember the Oslo Accords, that wondrous mirage? All would be forgiven, and both Arabs and Israelis would live happily ever after. A peaceful Palestinian state would arise next to Israel, and both Arab and Jew would thrive. Abu Abbas, among others, was granted amnesty and returned to Gaza.

Then the masquerade ended. Offered a Palestinian state that would have embraced Gaza, almost all of the West Bank, and half of Jerusalem, including control of the Temple Mount, Yasser Arafat couldn't bring himself to accept victory. Not if it had to be shared.