Word: arafats
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...reason Arafat may yet prevail against these odds, however, may have less to do with any enthusiasm among Palestinian legislators for his autocratic rule than with some of the key political issues that divide Arafat from his challenger. Abu Mazen has made clear that he intends to put Palestinian security services to work disarming the various unofficial militias, such as the Fatah-based Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade, and also to clamp down on the militant Islamist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Arafat opposes the idea of confronting the militants, for fear that this could lead to a Palestinian civil...
...Mazen has irked Arafat by ignoring his longtime loyalists, preferring younger leaders untainted by corruption and, in some key cases, well regarded in Israel and Washington. In fact, Abu Mazen kept only one member of Arafat's previous cabinet, and that was finance minister Salam Fayyad - whom Arafat had appointed under pressure from the West to ensure transparency in budgetary affairs...
...central dispute concerns Mohammed Dahlan, the longtime Gaza security chief picked by Abu Mazen to be the new interior minister and therefore responsible for security issues. Dahlan has shown himself capable of building a credible security organization outside of Arafat's control, and his independence at the head of a consolidated Palestinian security service - as well as his good standing in Washington - make Dahlan a threatening figure to the PLO chairman. Palestinian reformists and Western backers of the road map want to limit Arafat's personal power and create a more collective leadership among the Palestinians. But Arafat...
...Unfortunately for Abu Mazen, his policy of suppressing militant groups and relying exclusively on the diplomatic route to pressure Israel into withdrawing from the West Bank and Gaza remains a tough sell even to many Palestinians willing to jettison Arafat. And while his longtime efforts as a peacemaker - he famously co-authored a plan for sharing Jerusalem with former Israeli justice minister Yossi Beilin - have earned Abu Mazen considerable respect in foreign capitals, he has no mass support base of his own among Palestinians. The latest opinion survey published by a respected Palestinian polling organization showed that while some...
...vociferously rejected even Barak's more limited offer at Camp David the previous summer. Although Sharon has spoken recently of the need for "painful concessions" to achieve peace, few Israeli analysts believe he is willing to go nearly as far as his predecessor. Which suggests that even once the Arafat roadblock is cleared, publication of the road map may be only the beginning of a long and painful journey whose duration is far greater than the three years envisaged by its authors...