Posted on 11/06/2004 10:58:26 AM PST by Former Military Chick
Palestinian militants pressed Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia during a Gaza Strip meeting on Saturday to assign them decision-making powers in a temporary unified leadership they say should be created if critically ill Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat dies.
Militant leaders, who are seen as political rivals to the governing Palestinian Authority, said Qureia had "agreed in principle" to their demand at a meeting in Gaza, but there was no confirmation from the prime minister himself.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the French military center where the PA leader is hospitalized said in a Friday briefing that "the state of President Yasser Arafat's health has not worsened. It is considered stable since the previous health bulletin."
The ailing Palestinian leader is in a coma and has undergone a general system collapse, according to Palestinian officials.
"Arafat is unconscious and has undergone a general systems collapse," a high-level Palestinian official told Haaretz on Thursday night. "He is being aided by respiratory machines and his condition appears irreversible, but reports of his death are not true."
After the Saturday meeting with Qureia, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the temporary unified leadership they were seeking would "guarantee the participation of all factions in formulating the national Palestinian decision," adding that Qureia had promised to "look into (how) to implement" the idea.
Qureia, regarded as a moderate who wants peace talks with Israel, told reporters: "We are talking about unity in all forms and aspects." He did not elaborate.
Qureia did say security commanders had committed to a "joint security plan ... to ensure security and order."
He said the Islamic groups "reiterated the importance" of working together with the Palestinian government "to reach a national program and a national plan and to achieve a political partnership."
The talks, which included 14 political and militant groups, came amid growing lawlessness in the West Bank and Gaza. Many Palestinians fear a political vacuum could emerge should Arafat, who is being treated in a hospital in France, die.
Militant groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, whose stock has risen among Palestinians during four years of clashes with Israeli forces, have long pushed for security and policy-making powers in the government, controlled by Arafat's Fatah faction.
Achieving that would cast doubt on diplomacy with Israel and its U.S. ally, as most of the militant groups, including Hamas, are sworn to the destruction of the Jewish state.
Complicating Qureia's efforts, Abu Zuhri ruled out a cease-fire with Israel. "The resistance continues and will stop only if the occupation ends," he said. During his tenure, Qureia has tried to persuade the militants to commit to a cease-fire in hopes of restarting peace talks with Israel.
Zuhri said the proposed leadership "would not be an alternative to any institution (but) a form of a high committee to lead our people during a transitional stage until elections are held".
General elections for president of the Palestinian Authority would be held 60 days after Arafat's death according to Palestinian law. Nominees from all factions are eligible to run, but no group has yet spoken of putting forward a candidate.
PA begins to divide up Arafat's powers As Arafat remained close to death in a French military hospital, Qureia and his predecessor Mahmoud Abbas began taking on some of the powers held by the long-time Palestinian leader, a senior Palestinian official said Saturday.
Top Arafat aid Tayeb Abdul Rahim confirmed Saturday that the PA leader's responsibilities have been divided between Qureia and Abbas, as has been reported in the media over the past several days.
Currently, Qureia holds economic and security powers within the PA and Abbas inherited power within the Palestine Liberation Organization from Arafat.
Arafat's wife has power to disconnect life-support Sources in Ramallah said Friday that Arafat's wife, Suha, has the power to decide when to disconnect her husband from life support in the Percy Military Training Hospital in Clamart, outside Paris. Israel Radio quoted Palestinian sources as saying that Suha Arafat is deciding on all hospital matters regarding her husband.
"Arafat is in a critical state between life and death," the Palestinian envoy to Paris said on Friday morning amid growing speculations on a post-Arafat PA.
"I assure you that he is not brain dead," she said. "He is in a coma. We are not sure what type. But it is a reversible coma," Leila Shahid, the permanent Palestinian envoy to Paris, told French RTL radio.
Shahid ruled out the possibility of Arafat resigning as chairman of the PA.
"There is no reason. Why resign? ... Palestinian institutions provide for a vice-president for all the posts held by Yasser Arafat, and the vice-presidents will take over if need be."
Jews, Muslims hold Arafat vigil On Friday, ultra-orthodox Jews and Muslims attended an interfaith vigil for Arafat outside the French hospital. Attendees included the Imam of the Clamart mosque, as well as two orthodox Jews, Rabbi Yisroel David Weiss and Moishe Arye Friedmann.
"We are here to express our solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters," said Friedmann.
Both had traveled to France in order to show solidarity with Arafat and the Palestinians, Weiss from the United States, and Friedmann from Vienna, and define themselves as opposed to Zionism.
Well, the leader who gets all of Yassir's little boys had better be careful! That's how the Reuters reporters were able to get the poison into Arafat, by administering it to several of Yassir's healthy boy toys and they, in turn, infected Yassir.
Reuters reporters infected Arafat's gay lovers with AIDS? Where did you pull that out of? (pulled out of the part of the body Arafat likes?)
By the title, I thought they were referring to the Rendell Administration... HA!
First speculation on the death of Arafat meant Pali's killing Pali's for control...they are trying to pull a rabbit out of their asses to keep that from happening....good luck Pali's!!!!
Did I just detect a sigh of relief in the Force?
As long as a terrorist regime continues to be in power, and as long as the cult of death reigns in the areas it rules over, a new terrorist will raise to power. There will never be peace. Any peace treaty signed with such conditions would mean nothing but a tactic for the terrorists to get stronger. The US must end its recognition of the Palestinian Authority as a "peace" partner, and end foreign aid to it.
Yeah being dead is a fairly stable state. One can only hope...
Wow, and I though Ed Rendell was in control.
"PA leaders begin to divide up Arafat's.......... powers"
Before I saw the last word of the headline I expected it to read:
"PA leaders begin to divide up Arafat's boy-toys"
They can divide up his powers all they want, but it seems that no one has the password to his Swiss bank accounts. Some lucky bank is going to effectively "inherit" several billion in capital.
Oh the irony, the delicious irony.
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