-Caveat Lector- http://www.israelinsider.com/channels/diplomacy/articles/dip_0157.htm
WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Yasser Arafat reportedly weighing resignation or flight By Yoni Tamler January 20, 2002 01/20 Report: Arafat considering resignation Jerusalem Post Palestinian National Authority Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is considering announcing his resignation, a senior Palestinian source told ynet. The website reports that Arafat may have already prepared and recorded a speech telling the Palestinians that he is resigning in light of the diplomatic impasse between the PA and Israel. The source also said that Arafat's own estimation of his health is the worst it has ever been. "In the past few days, Arafat has been saying more than ever that he is close to heaven, and that he'll end his life as a martyr," the source said. According to the source, the resignation is being given "Arafat has been saying . . . that he'll end his life as a martyr" - Palestinian source serious consideration because of the Palestinians' sense that the world is ignoring Israel's alleged escalation, in particular the tightened closure on Palestinian territories and on Arafat himself. Following Thursday's terror attack in Hadera, senior PA officials attempted to contact the heads of the U.S., the European Union, Egypt, and Jordan, but all refused to speak to them, the source said. Chances of Arafat announcing his decision will increase if the international community remains indifferent, the source said. A serious escalation in the territories is expected to create an "unprecedented situation" in the region, he added. Israel keeping the pressure on Israel's intense pressure aimed directly at Arafat appears to be taking its toll on the Palestinian leader as well. For nearly a month, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has prohibited Arafat from leaving Ramallah until he arrests those responsible for the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rechavam Ze'evi. "It's better that [Arafat] stays there, imprisoned, and not caused damage outside," Sharon told his cabinet last week. "He opens a window in Ramallah, sees the tanks, knows there's nowhere to go. He's dying to go, dying to fly, he'll become sick of sitting there in his cell." Sharon rejected proposals to expel Arafat from the territories, which were supported by members of the Likud Party, including Finance Minister Silvan Shalom. "Arafat is under pressure, but it's not affecting him nor changing his strategy," Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told Maariv on Friday, following the terror attack in Hadera. "What's needed is to keep the pressure on him, especially external pressure. We're all sick of him already. It's important that there be more and more American pressure. I know that the Americans, with every regard to Arafat, are also already sick of this story." Israeli Channel Two television's Arab affairs commentator Ehud Ya'ari reported Friday night that the United States was on the verge of cutting its connections with Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority. U .S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns was due to meet with Arafat on Thursday and warn him that his relations with the United States were at risk if he didn't arrest terrorists and sever his ties with Iran and the Hizbullah, Israel Radio reported. Burns's visit was canceled but no official reason was given for the change in plans. Senior Israeli intelligence officials recently received indications that Arafat is trying to find a way to escape from Ramallah and go abroad to become a "national hero" and not be held accountable for terror attacks in Israel, Maariv reported. Arafat reportedly believes that international pressure will help him return to the territories as a hero. Even in the meantime, he may think abroad he can exploit his widespread, influential contacts and continue to lead the Palestinians from a "safe distance." Palestinians say Arafat resignation will be worse for Israel "If Arafat decides to give the [resignation] speech, he will instruct the Palestinians to intensify the struggle, to escalate the Intifada and its fight against Israel," a Palestinian source told ynet. "He'll call on the Palestinians to continue the struggle and not surrender our diplomatic principles: establishment of a Palestinian state according to the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital, and a solution to the problem of right of return for Palestinian refugees." The source added that Israel should be aware that Arafat's replacement would not be to its benefit, as "only Arafat can sign an agreement with Israel that will satisfy its needs." The Palestinians also pointed out that if Israel is the catalyst for Arafat's replacement - either through an attack on him or his arrest - "[Israel] should know that the Palestinian forces have already been given the instruction to enter into a full-scale conflict with Israel." The source said that the significance of Arafat's resignation would be the dissolution of the PA and its institutions, "and not his replacement by another official," something that would bring anarchy to the occupied territories. There has been no official Palestinian response to the ynet report. Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi, a former advisor to Arafat, categorically denied the resignation reports in an interview with Army Radio today, calling them Israeli psychological warfare. "Even as a joke, [the report] is unsuccessful," Tibi said. "If Arafat is removed from his position, it will be because Israel wants to expel him after he was democratically elected. The talk of him resigning is simply without basis." *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! Write to same address to be off lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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