Yasser Arafat has now sold Israel the same rug a fourth time. In the Hebron agreements just signed with the Likud government of Israel, he has promised to change — really, truly change this time — the Palestine National Charter that calls for the destruction of Israel. The chronicle of this multiple sale — a near-farcical tale of sleight of hand and gullibility — is a microcosm of the Middle East peace process.

In September 1993, Arafat promised in a letter that was part of the original Oslo accords to change the charter. He didn’t.