"It's the first time the Arabs have abandoned Arafat in such a way," said Jihad al-Khazen, a Lebanese columnist for the London-based Al Hayat newspaper.
Muhammad Sobeih, Palestinian representative to the Arab League, decried the lack of Arab support. "For the first time, the Arab street is silent during such a critical period," he told reporters in Cairo.
Qatar's foreign minister, Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani, said Arabs "don't have the power" to help the Palestinians. "We are obliged to beg the Americans for a settlement," he said on Al-Jazeera television after talks with U.S. officials in Washington.
Even Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, one of Arafat's closest allies, hasn't spoken directly to Arafat in weeks.
Poor Yasser sits by the phone. They don't call, they don't write, they don't send ammunition. His birthday comes and goes and no one remembers."you don't send me hummous anymore"
Posted by Anonymous 1/25/2002 6:07:48 AM |