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| Middle East |
| Arafat Deputy: Armed Uprising Must Stop |
| 2002-11-27 |
| Yasser Arafat's deputy was quoted as saying the armed uprising against Israel was a mistake and must be halted. The office of Arafat's deputy in the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas, released a 20-page transcript of a closed-door meeting he held with Fatah activists last month in Gaza. In the session, Abbas sharply criticized the militias, saying it was a mistake to turn popular protests into an armed conflict with Israel. "What happened in these two years, as we see it now, is a complete destruction of everything we built," Abbas was quoted as saying. "The reason for this is that many people diverted the uprising from its natural path and embarked on a path we can't handle, with the use of weapons ... such as mortars, grenades and shooting from houses and populated areas." Abbas said shooting from populated areas endangered Palestinian lives and property, because it invited Israeli retaliation. "We have to control the situation, and I don't think there is anything that keeps us from succeeding," he said. "What is needed now is to say, clearly and firmly — until here and enough." Abbas did not mention Arafat by name, but since the Palestinian leader controls all aspects of government, the criticism was clearly aimed at him. For a time last month, Abbas had been considered a top contender for prime minister — a position reform-minded Fatah leaders wanted to create to force Arafat to share power. However, the initiative withered after Israel laid siege to Arafat's compound in response to a suicide attack, giving a boost to his sagging popularity. Interesting story, isn't it? The Armed Struggle™ is being driven, not by Arafat or the PLO, but by Hamas, with Islamic Jihad trailing behind and trying to seem just as important. Al-Aqsa Brigades and the other politicals are following the Hamas lead because that's what seems to be working. To retain influence, they've got to show the same kind of adolescent "heroism" that Hamas nutbags do. Yasser let the second Intifada erupt because the first one was moderately successful and he thought he could control it — but he did it at about the same time his mind started going. The second Intifada's not Yasser's creature, but Sheikh Yassin's and — maybe — Rantissi's. As a result, Yasser's become sidelined, and through the miscalculation of the religious fanatics and their controllers, the Paleostinian infrastructure, never that much to write home about, is being destroyed. But if they quit the Armed Struggle™, they've got nothing to show for the blood and gore they've unleashed but rubble. Politics and society are now something that might be best described as sub-Third World. If Yasser were to kick it tomorrow, and Abu Mazen were to take his place, chances are he'd take a clerically-dispatched bullet within six months. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |