Arafat's death can breathe life into peace process

Dennis Ross, former U.S. envoy to the Middle East under Presidents Clinton and George H.W. Bush. examines the next steps to peace in the Mid-East following Arafat's death.//JW sends.

Yasser Arafat has dominated the Palestinian national movement for the past 40 years. He has been a fixture on the landscape of the Middle East. He came to embody the Palestinian cause and was determined that no other Palestinian figure could emerge as a possible alternative to him.

Not surprisingly, Palestinians fear life without him.

The fear is not only emotionally driven. True, he has been an icon and father figure for the Palestinian people. That alone will create a profound sense of loss. But there is a very practical side to Palestinian foreboding. Without Arafat, there is no figure who has the authority to prevent a violent struggle to succeed him.
Paradoxically, the fear of chaos and even civil war will probably produce what most Palestinians least expect: stability, at least in the near term. Different Palestinian factions — whether in Fatah, Hamas or Islamic Jihad — will not want to look as though they are responsible for a descent into fratricide. As a result, violence during the transition is likely to be contained.
But there should be no illusions. There will be a competition for power, and it will become violent unless elections become the mechanism for shaping the Palestinians' future and determining Palestinian leadership.