A puzzling side note to my last post, particularly in view of the widespread world condemnation of Israel for the attack on Sheik Shehada:

According to the Times of India, Arafat believes that the world has been "silent" about the attacks:

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Tuesday deplored what he called "the silence of the international community" after an Israeli air raid which killed 14 Palestinians, including nine children, as well as the militant leader who was targeted, the WAFA news agency reported.

"It is carnage which no human being can imagine," he said. "I ask the whole world how it can remain silent before such crimes and not seek to put an end to them?"

He charged that "Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon does not want peace but is seeking to continue his policy of massacres".

I have heard reports in the past that Arafat may suffer from Parkinson's disease or some other neurological ailment. Could this be evidence of that? [I'm not suggesting it is. I'm just saying that it's hard to read the condemnations of Kofi Anan, Javier Solana, Jack Straw, George W. Bush and all the rest and then make a public statement that the world is "silent". The other explanation is that the Times of India got it wrong, which I have no information about.]