Word: yasser
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Whether Marwan Barghouti contests the Palestinian presidential election from an Israeli jail, or succumbs to pressure to stand down in the name of national unity, his candidacy signals the difficulties facing Yasser Arafat's presumptive heir, Mahmoud Abbas, in fulfilling Washington's expectations that the passing of Arafat will herald the rise of a more pliable leadership. For a week since announcing his candidacy in the January 9 election for President of the Palestinian Authority, Barghouti has dominated international headlines. Secretary of State Colin Powell called Barghouti's "problematic," while Spanish foreign minister Miguel Moratinos dubbed it "a mistake." Egyptian...
...shock troops of the current intifadah via the al-Aksa Martyr's Brigade and other militia. They have been even more urgent and insistent in demanding that Barghouti drop out of the race in the name of the unity emphasized by all Palestinian factions in the wake of Yasser Arafat's passing. "We are against the candidacy of Marwan because it is contrary to the decision of the central committee of Fatah, which unanimously chose [Mahmoud Abbas]," said Zakariya Zubeidi, Jenin leader of the al-Aksa Brigades. "We will not let anybody, no matter who, create any division or split...
...father is dead and everyone in the family has the right to express his own views." MOENIS ABU IMRAN, shopkeeper in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on Yasser Arafat's death and the upcoming Palestinian election...
...Israel Are pinning their hopes on former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to succeed Yasser Arafat as leader of the Palestinians. But among Palestinians there are growing anxieties about whether Abbas, a moderate who took over as chairman of the P.L.O. after Arafat's death, can survive the runup to the election for a new President, scheduled for Jan. 9. Two days after Arafat's funeral, gunmen opened fire inside a mourning tent in Gaza where Abbas was appearing, killing two of his bodyguards. Senior officials from Fatah, the main faction of the P.L.O., told TIME they are worried that more...
Window Of Opportunity When British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw visited Ramallah last week to leave a wreath at Yasser Arafat's grave, many observers expected the government of Ariel Sharon to protest. But Israeli officials were resigned. "We snubbed officials who went to talk to Arafat when he was alive," sighed one. "We can't very well do that to those who want to talk to him when he's dead." That tempered response reflects a new mood of conciliation. With Palestinians preparing to vote on Jan. 9 for a new President, Israel last week signaled that it will allow...