Word: arafats
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Upon being released from his battered compound in Ramallah, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat denounced the Israelis as “terrorists, Nazis and racists.” This remark—equating Israel’s brave defenders with the followers of Hitler—was shockingly offensive, yet it sparked relatively little controversy in the international press. Perhaps, though, this shouldn’t be surprising: Arafat has, after all, historically nurtured an entire generation of Palestinian schoolchildren to hate the people he labels “Judeo-Nazis...
...understandable that Yasser Arafat would be reluctant to embrace reform in the Palestinian Authority; after all, it would ultimately limit his personal power. For Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon PA reform is code for getting rid of Arafat - the Israeli leader went so far, this week, as to suggest that the U.S. and its allies oust Arafat and "impose" an "interim government" on the Palestinians. But Sharon is unlikely to have much influence over the remaking...
...fundamental question of PA reform, therefore, is not whether or not Arafat occupies the presidency, but what the extent of his powers will be. On that front he faces a concerted challenge from within the ranks of his own party, Fatah, which is not only proposing far-reaching changes to end the corruption and cronyism around Arafat but also working to ensure that the Palestinian executive branch is held more accountable to its elected legislature - all of which will diminish Arafat's personal power. While that may please many of the Israeli and Western leaders frustrated in their dealings with...
...extent to which Arafat delivers on his promise of reform may depend on the outcome of the fierce power struggles already under way in his domain. The increasingly open split between West Bank security chief Jibril Rajoub and his Gaza counterpart Mohammed Dahlan is threatening to spark a wave of internecine violence, while the grassroots Fatah leadership is being emboldened by Arafat's talk of reform to press ahead in its challenge to the PLO old guard that dominates the PA leadership...
...resurgent debate is a product of the relative calm of recent weeks, but that calm is an uneasy one that could be shattered at any moment. Hamas and other militant groups have vowed to dispatch more suicide bombers into Israel despite Arafat's injunctions, and Israel's incoming Chief of Staff, General Moshe Ya'alon has warned that Israel will mount new incursions in Gaza and the West Bank whenever deemed necessary. Washington is aware, however, that defusing the conflict requires keeping the IDF out of Palestinian territory. An Israeli invasion of Gaza - which Ya'alon said was a question...