VOL. XL

No. 12

24 March 1997

The Political Scene

Coming at a time when relations between Israel and thePalestinians were already more strained than at any time since the original Osloagreement, the 21 March suicide bombing in Tel Aviv appeared to threaten the veryexistence of the peace process, particularly since the Israelis' first reaction was toclaim that Palestinian Authority President Yasir 'Arafat had colluded in the attack. Priorto the bombing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin...