On November 12, a Reuters article covering Yasser Arafat?s death concluded with the sentence: ?Israel has held out the possibility of a new era of peacemaking after Arafat, on the condition a new Palestinian leadership under reformist politicians stops attacks on Israelis.? This statement sums up both the promise and the problem with the pivotal event of Arafat?s death. On the one hand, Israelis have refused to negotiate with Arafat for the past three years but may be willing to open dialogue anew with his replacement. Dialogue was not even an option. With Arafat out of the way, more peaceful reformers like Mahmoud Abbas and Saeb Erekat, perhaps Palestine?s most gracious negotiator, may be able to move to the fore. However, such men will have no influence or credibility over the groups carrying out the Intifada and, thus, will not be able to offer the guarantee of an end to the violence that Israel will require before granting concessions.

Yasser Arafat, in his capacity as the President of the Palestinian Authority, the head of the PLO, and the head of Fatah (Group Profile), possessing the contacts, money, and influence over armed groups, was decidedly the Palestinian Leviathan, solely responsible for simultaneously holding factions together and keeping them from fighting one another. These different factions have been left in a free-for-all for power, as the tremendous force that was Arafat has been lifted away (Intel Report).