History may judge him an arch-terrorist, a national hero or both. What nobody can deny is that for all the lip-service carefully paid to the outward forms of collective leadership, Yasser Arafat has never been one to share real power. All the Palestinians' big decisions-most fatefully his decision at the end of 2000 not to grab the peace compromise put together after the Camp David summit by then president Bill Clinton-were in the end his alone. For that reason, this week's sudden decline in his health cannot be seen only as a moment of crisis for the people of Palestine. Though they now face a troubling question-how will they remain united if their paramount leader dies?-they also have an opportunity. If he were to die, Mr Arafat's passing might be the event that frees them from the trap in which they have put themselves since the eruption four years ago of their second intifada against Israel.
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