Mortimer B. Zuckerman

Palestinian terrorism exacerbates tensions in the Middle East, argues Mortimer B. Zuckerman in the following viewpoint. The mid-1990s Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) broke down after Palestinian extremists launched hundreds of terrorist attacks against Israelis in 1996 and 1997, Zuckerman contends. Furthermore, he asserts, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has betrayed the peace process by refusing to crack down on known Palestinian terrorist groups. When Israel gives in to Western pressure to grant more land to the Palestinians, Israelis face more terrorism from Palestinian extremists and Islamic fundamentalists, Zuckerman maintains. Zuckerman is editor-in-chief of the weekly magazine U.S. News & World Report.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Zuckerman, what precaution did Yitzhak Rabin take during the Oslo peace negotiations with Yasser Arafat? 2. How many terrorist attacks...