CarolC-So, you think that Arafat was right in rejecting Barak's offer? Politically it was idiotic, and morally the same. By refusing the offer, however stingy it might have been, Arafat made himself look like the bad guy, guaranteed continued Israeli presence in the 98% that was offered, and made it much harder for the Palestinian Authority to exercise the control necessary to prevent terrorism. The offer was not a generous end-point, but it granted much more autonomy than the present situation, and I can't see any reason to reject it except pettiness and an unwillingness to compromise. Half of what you wanted is a better position to negotiate for the rest of it than none at all.