Menachem Begin, Israel's prime minister from 1977 to 1983, tried very hard to present Abu Mazen's predecessor, Yasser Arafat, as being - how shall I put it? - "not really human," and even outright demonic. Begin not only referred to him as "the man with the hairs on his face" (although I and quite a few other Israelis have hairs on our faces), but he also used a ploy adapted later by many local officials, the present premier included: treating Arafat and indeed all our enemies as potential "Hitlers," like dots along an evil axis, or declaring that there is "no partner," that Palestinians are not worthy of negotiating with Israel.
Michael Handelzalts in Haaretz
