n about 75% of the seats in the new Palestinian legislative council (CNN Interactive). The 1996 election, however, was officially boycotted by Hamas and other extremist groups, who rejected any accommodation with Israel. Arafat was put in the position of having to satisfy the Israeli demands to do all he can to contain terrorist activities; while, at the same time, try to convince followers of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad that he could act as a leader of all segments of the Palestinian population (Bickerman 287).Arafat has been criticized by Israel and others for a lack of control over extremist Palestinians such as Hamas. He has vowed to crack down, and repeatedly has expressed sorrow over Hamas' terrorist acts. Yet, as he continually tries to appear to have a balance his political stance, he still remains the champion of Palestinian rights in their quest for a homeland, and continues to make comments that incite violent overtones in his people, exemplified by the following: "We sacrifice our blood and ourselves for Palestine!"(A response chanted by the Palestinian crowd to Arafat's above call for war: Arutz-7 Radio, 23 October 1996). In conclusion, Yasser Arafat plays a dual role: to appeal to the divided Palestinian citizens and to attempt peace with Israel. But, his deep-rooted ideological pursuit for Palestinian nationalism will not be suppressed, and thus makes peace a very complex process. This quote expresses his sentiment, "When we stopped the Intifada we did not stop the Jihad to establish Palestine with Jerusalem as our capital.... We know only one word: Jihad, Jihad, Jihad.... We are at conflict with the Zionist movement...."(Arafat, in a speech at the Dehaishe refugee camp near Bethlehem, 22 October 1996 )...
