Arafat

[Flatlander]

As you may know, Yasser Arafat is "gravely ill", and may possibly pass away in a French hospital in the very near future. Arafat has been instrumental in bringing global attention to the plight of the Palestinian people, and has been a viewed as everything from charismatic to criminal in his struggle to represent Palestine.

My question is thus: should Mr. Arafat pass away, will this help or hinder the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians? Why?

 

[PeachMonkey]

I think it can't but help.

Arafat was a terrorist, a murderer, and a greedy manipulator who helped keep the Palestinian people in suffering to further his own political and personal ends.

Unfortunately, in the short term, his passing will mean a great deal of internecine violence among Palestinian groups -- but hopefully, he can be replaced by someone who has the actual interests of Palestinians in mind, and who can be trusted by the Israeli people.

 

[OUMoose]

I think that question could be answered by another question. Who has/is stepping up to be the successor to Arafat should he pass away? I haven't been following it like I should, so I can't answer that myself.

 

[Sapper6]

like peachmonkey, i don't view Arafat as a political leader, but as a terrorist. to call him a political inspirational leader speaking with the political interests of the palastine people in mind would be like saying bin laden did the same for the afghans. arafat's people have killed thousands of innocent people in that land, not necessarily what i'd call diplomacy. i certainly hope the people of palastine will have a new leader, truely speaking for them.

but like GW said a couple days ago, may god rest his soul.

 

[Zepp]

Some news about what's going on in Gaza with respect to the Palestinian "leadership" (if you can call it that): http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/498070.html

...And an analysis from the same newspaper which you might find interesting:
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/498202.html

A short time ago, I had an opportunity to hear a talk by Dennis Ross, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel, who helped to orchestrate the Oslo Accords, among other things. About Arafat, he said he spent more face-to-face time with him than anyone else on either the Israeli or Palestinian side, and that without a doubt, Arafat is "a creature of the street." Let's hope whoever ends up running the PA when the dust settles has a tad less "street" in him.

The most important question for the near future is how will the disunity or change in leadership of the Palestinians affect Israel's upcoming withdrawal from Gaza. According to Dennis Ross, the worst thing that could happen, especially for the Palstinians, is if Israel is attacked while withdrawing. Ariel Sharon certainly won't hesitate to retaliate in that case, and lately, IDF tank and helicopter gunners haven't been terribly great at avoiding "collateral damage."

 

[Mark Weiser]

The best thing to do is for Israel to lockdown the area and set up a defensive perimeter due to the in house fighting that will occur due to Arafat's mental instability in not having groomed a successor.

I think that the next leader will be more violent that Arafat. I belive that Israel will see a rise in violence to see which group is the strongest much like the gangland wars during prohibition during the early 20th Century in USA.

 

[Gary Crawford]

It has always bothered me that I have never seen Arafat blink his eyes,has anyone else noticed that? Is he human?I think he is half human,half reptile or something.

 

[Baytor]

I think that one good thing is that he isn't in Israel right now. I think that his supporters would (and still may) accuse Israel of killing him.

This is just internet speculation at this point, but there is talk that he has HIV/AIDS.

http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/11/300375.html

This link talks about where he would be buried. At the end of the article, it mentions how some Israelis were celebrating when they found out he was almost dead. That's in rather bad taste.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-arafat-israel,0,6524265,print.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

 

[bushi jon]

There will be no imediate replacement for Arafat the upper plo will infight. I only hope that they people get back all the money he has hidden away before he dies. Like or hate Arafat he was very popular with his people.

 

[Zepp]

It has always bothered me that I have never seen Arafat blink his eyes,has anyone else noticed that? Is he human?I think he is half human,half reptile or something.

It's been widely speculated for some time that Arafat has Parkinson's disease. The rumor is he hides it well on camera, but not so well in person. The loss of muscle control could certainly be responsible for his declining health. I don't know for sure, but maybe it's also affected his ability to blink. :idunno:

 

[Flatlander]

This just in:

Some Palestinians have complained Suha Arafat has gained too much power, as she controls the flow of information about Arafat's condition and has taken charge of access to the ailing leader. She also is widely believed to have control of vast funds collected by the PLO.
"She is not part of the Palestinian leadership," Arafat security adviser Jibril Rajoub told Israel's Channel Two TV on Sunday.

Suha Arafat, 41, lives in Paris and has not been to the West Bank of the Jordan River or seen her husband since the latest round of Palestinian violence began in 2000.

Suha is Yasser Arafat's wife. Apparently, she has the money, and is making a play for power....

 

[raedyn]

You might be right, she might be trying to take over. Or she might be a concerned wife in a time of crisis. I know if my husband was in intensive care I'd be trying as much as possible to be in control of the flow of information - and anything else I could hold onto in a situation that is largely out of my control.

For the sake of comparison;
If the US President was in intensive care.. well, there wouldn't be these problems because there is a clearly defined next-in-line for power. But how much say would the First Lady have re: what got communicated to the American people? It's her husband after all, but he also - in a way - belongs to the people of his nation as well. Would her wishes be respected if she didn't want gory details released to the public, or would 'the powers that be' get to decide regaurdless of the First Lady's wishes?

It's my guess that no one would say the First Lady was trying to wrest control of the government if she tried to control the flow of information about her husband's condition. Why is it different when it's the Palestinian leader that is ill?

 

[Flatlander]

Why is it different when it's the Palestinian leader that is ill?

Because, as you said, there is no clear successorship plan for that Palestinian leadership. Given that, it seems to me that interfering in the process via this quote from the article:

"Let it be known to the honest Palestinian people that a bunch of those who want to inherit are coming to Paris," she shouted in Arabic in her first public comments since Mr. Arafat left his compound on the West Bank of the Jordan River for France.

demonstrates that she is attempting to exert her influence over the successorship process. Perhaps that is her place to do so, perhaps not. I would say not, but my opinion matters not to the people of Palestine.

 

[Zepp]

I don't think Suha Arafat intends to be much of a power player. She's always stayed out of the public eye for the most part.

But I do find the current situation absolutely hilarious.

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/498661.html

Apparently, some of his old cronies just can't get rid of him fast enough.

 

[Moko]

I really don't care who takes over, just as long as they are better looking than Arafat. He has to be the Ugliest man I have ever seen. Not even Richard Simmons is that ugly.

 

[Flatlander]

From CBC:

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK - The Speaker of the Palestinian parliament will become temporary president of the Palestinian Authority in the event of Yasser Arafat's death, PLO leaders said on Wednesday. Backbencher Rauhi Fattouh, the current Speaker, will hold the position for 60 days until new elections are held.

[font=verdana,arial]Rauhi Fattouh (AP photo)[/font]


From this article:

Palestinian officials have expressed concern that Fattouh, who was named speaker only last year, may not be up to the job, even briefly. They said Fatah was looking for ways to get around making Fattouh the top leader, perhaps by ensuring that Abbas and Qureia exercise most power.

Many Palestinians fear Arafat's death could spark violent power struggles.

"Hamas will do whatever it can to maintain Palestinian national unity and avoid any differences or any civil war," said Hamas spokesman Sammy Abu Zuhri.

 

[Zepp]

Well, it's official now. He's really gone.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/499629.html

I expect the blood-feuding shall commence shortly.

I'll say one thing to Arafat's credit. He gave the Palestinians a past so that they were able to identify as a people amongst themselves, and in the eyes of the world. Now if only they can find a future.

 

[shesulsa]

.

 

[MA-Caver]

I'm not going to offer the man a dot of silence. I agree that he was a terrorist and that he was (one of ) the key(s) to a peaceful resolution to the Palestine/Israel problem.
Having say that he didn't groom a successor I find it doubtful. He was intelligent and knew his business... killing people. I'm sorry but while I feel that it will be a dual edge sword with his death. It'll get worse and then it may get better. Then it'll get worse again. Israel has been and will continue to be a land of unrest.

For Bible readers/believers we know that any peace along the Gaza will be temporary and false. The prophecies of the Apostle John has yet to be fulfilled and that time is coming soon. Not in the next few weeks or months or even years but soon relatively speaking. Israel is the piviotal point of it all.

 

[michaeledward]

President Arafat died last evening.

For those who do not view him as a leader of the Palestinian People, it might be relevant to recall that he was the elected leader of the Palestinian People.

As I recall, President Bush called on the Palestinian People to elect a leader that will represent them in the Peace negotiations with Isreal. In response, the Palestinian People re-elected Yassar Arafat to the Presidency in a landslide.

Concerning the Palestinian Line-of-Succession, on the disability or death of the President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives will exercise the powers of the Presidency until an election is held, not more than 60 days from the vacancy. It seems pretty clear there.

Of course, there will be a power struggle, but, the Constitution spells out the line of succession.

One last note, President Arafat is the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.