Arafat looking to replace new PM

[renata]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/21/palestinian.primeminister/index.html

West Bank (CNN) -- Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat is starting to approach other candidates about becoming prime minister after failing to agree so far with Prime Minister-Designate Mahmoud Abbas on a list of new Cabinet members, Palestinian sources said Monday.

Arafat and Abbas are engaged in a power struggle, with the Palestinian Authority president seeking to retain as much control as he can, sources told CNN. Abbas -- commonly known as Abu Mazen -- has said he wants genuine authority in the job.

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Senior Palestinian officials unsuccessfully worked through Sunday night to come up with a compromise proposal, but they were pessimistic that a new government will be cobbled together and approved by a Wednesday deadline, sources said.

Abbas and Arafat disagree over whether former Gaza Preventative Security Chief Mohammed Dahlan will be included in the new government.

Abbas wants Dahlan to be in charge of security, but Arafat favors Hani el-Hasan, the interior minister and an Arafat loyalist, according to the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz.

Israel Radio reported that Arafat and Abbas are considering a compromise government list that would not include Dahlan.

This proposal has 24 ministers, 14 of whom were part of the previous Cabinet, Israel Radio reported.

Israel Radio said Dahlan on Sunday offered to give up a seat in the Cabinet to help both men reach an agreement.

The report cited Palestinian sources as saying that Abbas won't hold more meetings with Arafat. Abbas, sources said, is ready to walk away from the job rather than give in to Arafat.

Under pressure from the international community to reform the Palestinian Authority, Arafat agreed to the creation of the prime minister post, giving it significant powers.

Arafat then nominated Abbas, the Palestine Liberation Organization's longtime secretary-general.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has refused to reopen peace negotiations with Arafat.

Ra'anan Gissin, an adviser to Sharon, has said that the Israeli leader would invite Abbas to Jerusalem for talks once a new Palestinian government is sworn in.

Under Palestinian legal procedures, if a new government isn't formed by the deadline, Arafat would have to appoint someone else to come up with a Cabinet list.
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According to Israel Radio, the United States, European Union and other Arab countries have been urging Arafat to show flexibility toward Abbas.

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Abbas was one of the first Palestinian leaders to make contact with Israeli peace advocates.

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How long has Abu Mazen been on the job? And he is already ready to quit, and has refused to meet with Arafat any more. And he was hand picked by Arafat for the job! Took Israel a few years before they refused to meet with Arafat any longer. Although it does not talk about this issue in detail in this article, according to an NPR story this morning, Dahlan has a track record of cracking down on Islamic extremist organizations in Gaza, and holding tight security control. Arafat does not want him to get the PA security post, because he feels directly threatened, and wants to replace him with a loyalist. But I am sure Arafat really has the interests of peace and Palestinians involved when he is sabotaging his own government in order to keep hold on power.

 

[a_unique_person]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/21/palestinian.primeminister/index.html



How long has Abu Mazen been on the job? And he is already ready to quit, and has refused to meet with Arafat any more. And he was hand picked by Arafat for the job! Took Israel a few years before they refused to meet with Arafat any longer. Although it does not talk about this issue in detail in this article, according to an NPR story this morning, Dahlan has a track record of cracking down on Islamic extremist organizations in Gaza, and holding tight security control. Arafat does not want him to get the PA security post, because he feels directly threatened, and wants to replace him with a loyalist. But I am sure Arafat really has the interests of peace and Palestinians involved when he is sabotaging his own government in order to keep hold on power.

For some reason, Arafat feels he is the only person who can steer Palestine to peace with honour. He has dedicated his whole life to this cause, but hopefully a better leader will replace him soon. Not the first time a leader hasn't seen the writing on the wall, and certainly not the last.

 

[Supercharts]

Re: Re: Arafat looking to replace new PM

For some reason, Arafat feels he is the only person who can steer Palestine to peace with honour. He has dedicated his whole life to this cause, but hopefully a better leader will replace him soon. Not the first time a leader hasn't seen the writing on the wall, and certainly not the last.

Arafat doesn't care about the "Palistinians". He's a dictator who's dream is to 'die' for some cause.
Please - pick up some history books.
Think man, THINK!

 

[a_unique_person]

Re: Re: Re: Arafat looking to replace new PM

Arafat doesn't care about the "Palistinians". He's a dictator who's dream is to 'die' for some cause.
Please - pick up some history books.
Think man, THINK!

Adolf Hitler really believed he had the Germans best interests at heart.

Have you thought about deism and evolution yet?

 

[Kashyapa]

Arafat is a terrorist. He cannot be dealt with in any sort of peace process for the middle east; he will not accept peace. The Israelis were right when they deemed him irrelevant.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/21/palestinian.primeminister/index.html



How long has Abu Mazen been on the job? And he is already ready to quit, and has refused to meet with Arafat any more. And he was hand picked by Arafat for the job! Took Israel a few years before they refused to meet with Arafat any longer. Although it does not talk about this issue in detail in this article, according to an NPR story this morning, Dahlan has a track record of cracking down on Islamic extremist organizations in Gaza, and holding tight security control. Arafat does not want him to get the PA security post, because he feels directly threatened, and wants to replace him with a loyalist. But I am sure Arafat really has the interests of peace and Palestinians involved when he is sabotaging his own government in order to keep hold on power.

 

[a_unique_person]

Re: Re: Arafat looking to replace new PM

Arafat is a terrorist. He cannot be dealt with in any sort of peace process for the middle east; he will not accept peace. The Israelis were right when they deemed him irrelevant.

No more than Sharon. Does that make Sharon irrelevent too?

 

[Kashyapa]

Yep. As far as I'm concerned he's as bad as any other.

 

[Cleopatra]

Re: Re: Arafat looking to replace new PM

For some reason, Arafat feels he is the only person who can steer Palestine to peace with honour. He has dedicated his whole life to this cause, but hopefully a better leader will replace him soon. Not the first time a leader hasn't seen the writing on the wall, and certainly not the last.

... Mr. Unique, I have been trying to persuade you that accepting and justifying everything Palestinians do, doesn't help their cause.

We must critize! This is the only way to arrive somewhere!

Read this article from Jerusalem Post. Khaled Abu Toameh is a very serious journalist.

I am terribly worried because a large group of the Palestinians don't want Peace... do you think that they are doing this for their State? Nope! They are against peace out of religious fanatism.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1050892222877

 

[a_unique_person]

Re: Re: Re: Arafat looking to replace new PM

... Mr. Unique, I have been trying to persuade you that accepting and justifying everything Palestinians do, doesn't help their cause.

We must critize! This is the only way to arrive somewhere!

Read this article from Jerusalem Post. Khaled Abu Toameh is a very serious journalist.

I am terribly worried because a large group of the Palestinians don't want Peace... do you think that they are doing this for their State? Nope! They are against peace out of religious fanatism.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1050892222877

I thought I just did. I was just pointing out Arafat's motivation. Leaders often fall for the idea that they are the only one who can lead the team/country/business to victory. I don't think he is right in this belief. He just can't bring himself to let go.

As for the large group of religiously motivated Palestinians, the best way to stop the growth of fundamentalism is to stop feeding it, by removing it's credibility. If peace can be achieved, it will go away naturally. As I have pointed out before, the only people who now stand up for Palestine in a physical sense are the extremist Muslims.

Also don't forget that it was Israel itself who helped Hamas get started. They thought it would split the PLO leadership. Well, it certainly undermined them, and helped undermine the peace process too.

All people tend towards moderation, I believe, given the chance for a decent life and education.

 

[renata]

Update: they reached a compromise. Interesting point in the article- the reason Arafat was opposing Dahlan, was because he was afraid he would crack down too hard on Hamas and Islamic jihad.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/23/palestinian.government/index.html

Just hours away from a deadline, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and his prime minister-designate, Abu Mazen, have apparently agreed to a compromise in the power struggle over the makeup of a Palestinian Cabinet.

Egyptian Security Chief Omar Suleiman brokered a deal Wednesday that, according to sources, would call for former Gaza security chief Mohammed Dahlan to assume the role of minister of security, which Abu Mazen wanted. Abu Mazen went to Arafat's compound after Suleiman met with Arafat.

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Under Palestinian legal procedures, if a new government is not formed by midnight, Arafat, in his role as president, would have to appoint someone else to come up with a Cabinet list.
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Israel Radio reported a senior U.S. official had called Arafat, warning he will bear the consequences if Abu Mazen is not able to form a government.

"The danger is if [Abu Mazen and Arafat] don't agree, everybody will pay the price, not only Arafat, not only Abu Mazen, but our people," said one Palestinian source warned.

Palestinian sources said Arafat sharply disagreed with Abu Mazen's plan to name Dahlan as his security chief and to crack down on the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant offshoot of Arafat's Fatah movement that has claimed responsibility for a string of suicide bombings in Israel.

Arafat favored Hani el-Hasan, the current interior minister and an Arafat loyalist.

The arrival of Egyptian envoy Suleiman, who met both men Wednesday to broker the compromise, was a sign of how seriously Arab nations viewed the deadlock.

Sources told CNN the dispute was rooted in a power struggle, with Arafat seeking to retain as much control over the Palestinian Authority as he could. Arafat is said to fear a civil war if Abu Mazen moves against the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and other militant groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Abu Mazen has said he has no intention of being prime minister without having genuine authority in the job, and Arafat had been quietly looking for alternative candidates in case he and Abu Mazen cannot strike a deal. (Full story)

However, Israel Radio reported Tuesday that Arafat was told by the European Union's representative that Abu Mazen is the only viable choice for the prime minister's post.

Before Abu Mazen's arrival at Arafat's compound, the two man had not met since Abu Mazen stormed out of a meeting Saturday night, angry that Arafat would not approve his compromise list of Cabinet ministers.

Chief Palestinian negotiator and spokesman Saeb Erakat sought to soft pedal the crisis. "What we're witnessing is Palestinian democracy in action," he said. "This should be viewed as Palestinian labor pains in transforming toward a new political era."

Arafat has come under enormous pressure from the international community, especially from the Madrid Quartet -- made up of the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union.

....