It came down to a choice. Yasser Arafat, 71 and ailing, could deliver a Palestinian state by conceding some of his peoplešs most sacred desires. Or he could refuse and fight. When he realized an agreement with Israel would mean giving up the right of return for exiled Palestinians and receiving minimal control of East Jerusalem (and being called a traitor), he broke off talks without a counteroffer.

Tensions rose, and Palestinians — angered by Israeli hard-liners and reputedly egged on by Arafat — launched attacks and drew blistering reprisals. The fighting killed hundreds. By December, Arafat, a 1994 Nobel Peace Prize winner who had publicly clasped the hand of Yitzhak Rabin, was appearing in public clasping a submachine gun.