Free Republic

So far, three Palestinian figures including the Palestinian National Authority President Yasser Arafat announced determination to nominate themselves for the presidential elections due to be held in January 2003. The Palestinian Authority, however, has announced that legislative and presidential elections will be held in the Palestinian self- rule areas in January, just seven years from the first Palestinian legislative and presidential elections which took place in 1996. Both Washington and Israel want a Palestinian authority which is able to "control" the security situation first. This means to prevent operations against Israel. Also both Israel and the US consider that Arafat,...

Omar Karsou, a Palestinian from Ramallah who lives in New York, has found favor with U.S. government leaders. He is convinced that the Oslo Accords were a mistake, that Israel encouraged a corrupt and murderous regime headed by a dictator, and that compromise is unavoidable. LONDON - A bearded, balding man, who looked to be of Middle Eastern origin, approached the side table around which U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney and his senior advisers were dining 10 days ago. The Secret Service men allowed him through after a brief ID check. Cheney and his colleagues, including Deputy Secretary of Defense...