Palestinian groups, concerned that Israel will succeed in its ongoing efforts to undermine Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, have begun highly secret measures to set up an alternative organization to replace him.
Reports on the efforts by theses groups have appeared in the Saudi media and have been confirmed by Arab and European diplomats.
According to an Arab source, the effort is still in the stage of "secret and serious consultation”, reported recently The Washington Times.
Opposition Palestinian groups expected to take part in the attempt to depose Arafat are said to include Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Hamas and PFLP-General Command.
The new organization would include members of Arafat's mainstream Fatah movement, according to the Saudi daily Al-Watan, which has reported about the plan.
The newspaper stated that the organizers are motivated by heightened concern that the Palestinian Authority "is gradually collapsing" under extended Israeli pressure, and that the Jewish state may succeed in replacing it with "a Palestinian leadership subservient to it”
Israel has used tanks and troops to keep Arafat cooped to his compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah since December 3rd. Only lately, they have pulled out in order to let him leave his office. Authorities in Tel Aviv have said their purpose, at least partially, was to undermine Arafat and his organization in the hope that he would be replaced by someone more “centrist.”
“The possibility of the complete collapse of the Palestinian Authority is high on the agenda of the Israeli officials," said Al-Watan. "Therefore, preparations must be made from now on for the next phase”.
Several diplomats believe the effort to create a new Palestinian body might disrupt the Arab League summit scheduled for Beirut at the end of March.
For his part, Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the 22-nation Arab League, has traveled to Syria, Libya and Saudi Arabia, apparently trying to muster a common strategy for a peace proposal in the Middle East region built around an initiative raised by the Saudi Kingdom.
Introduced in a New York Times interview in February by Crown Prince Abdullah, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, the proposal suggested that Israel withdraw "from all occupied territories" in exchange for Arab recognition of the Jewish state and establishment of "normal" relations. The plan had been criticized by Libyan leader Colonel Moammar Kadhafi.
Still, Arab diplomatic sources claim the Saudi plan, based on the old formula of "land for peace," has little chance of succeeding. One of the unanswered questions is the future of around 7 million Palestinians scattered throughout the entire Arab world.
The prevalent Arab view was clearly summarized by Dubai's Al-Bayan newspaper, which wrote, ”If the Arab side wants to be approached with the highest degree of seriousness, it will have to be prepared to extend meaningful backing to the armed Palestinian resistance, and to state that position publicly”.
“In any event, the fire of the resistance needs to remain raging and unrelenting as the negotiating process goes on”. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
