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Middle East
Arafat’s anointed (Abu Ala) wants guarantees
2003-09-08
THE man Yasser Arafat has chosen to be the next Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qurei, says he wants US and European guarantees of support for peacemaking before accepting the post.
How about.....no?
The Palestinian Authority President yesterday nominated Mr Qorei, his parliamentary speaker, to replace Mahmoud Abbas, who resigned on Saturday.
"To hell with this! I'm outta here!"
Mr Abbas said Mr Arafat and Israel had obstructed his peace efforts, and that the US had not given him enough backing.
Not enough backing hmmm. Trying to keep from geting the old house shot up, huh Abbas?
Mr Qorei’s credentials as a highly regarded moderate and an architect of the 1993 interim Oslo peace accords with Israel could endear him to the US and could raise hopes of salvaging a battered US-led peace plan.
highly regarded Paleo moderate = uses a semiauto rifle
Palestinian Authority Minister for Security Affairs Mohammed Dahlan said he would not serve in any new cabinet unless it was headed by Mr Abbas.
Mo’s got his cart hitched to the Abbas horse, he hasn’t noticed it’s dead
There was no immediate reaction from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was leaving yesterday on an official trip to India. But he has ruled out talks with a Palestinian leadership controlled by Mr Arafat. Israeli Health Minister Danny Naveh, of Mr Sharon’s rightist Likud party, said Mr Qorei’s nomination would not bring a resumption of dialogue, because "the man who is pulling the strings and controlling everything is one person, and it’s Yasser Arafat". Mr Qorei, a veteran politician but one who has little grass-roots support among Palestinians, appears to recognise the difficulties he faces if he takes the job. "I am not prime minister as yet ... I want to see the Americans – what kind of guarantee ... they will (give)," he said.
"what’s in it for me? I want a swiss account like Abu Amar"
Actually... He has one.
"I want to see Europe, what kind of guarantees and support ... they will (give). I’m not ready to go for a failure. I want to see whether peace is possible or not."
Maybe you should look at Gaza, too?
Soon after Mr Arafat’s decision, Israel launched the latest in a series of missile strikes against Islamic militant groups. Helicopter gunships attacked the home of a member of Hamas’s military wing, wounding 15 people, medical workers said. The army said the building was used as a weapons arsenal and that ammunition and explosives blew up after the missiles hit. Mr Arafat’s nomination of Mr Qorei, approved yesterday by the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s executive committee and the Fatah faction, came amid a deep political crisis. Israeli officials said Mr Abbas’s decision to quit was a blow to peace hopes and they renewed calls for Mr Arafat’s expulsion. Mr Arafat had appointed Mr Abbas in April under intense international pressure for reform. The nomination of Mr Qorei, 65, could ease weeks of political confusion in the Palestinian Authority, which had heightened concern that the US-led road map to peace might be beyond saving.
Hamas has taken care of that, I think...
The crisis intensified at the weekend when an Israeli missile hit Gaza City in an apparent assassination bid against wheelchair-bound Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Sheikh Yassin was only slightly wounded but the group vowed revenge. Mr Sharon told the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that Hamas leaders were "marked for death".
’Bout time
Posted by:Frank G

#8  You guarantee that you won't explode any more Israelis.
We guarantee that you will live as long as you keep your guarantee.
Deal?
Posted by: True German Ally   2003-9-9 12:03:56 AM  

#7  MHW: This whole thing is a show-stopper, even Mazen. He didn't even want to do the task of breaking the various terrorist organizations within Gaza and the West Bank for fear of "civil war". Apparently, the Palestinians think that the price of peace is something they don't need to pay.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - had Mazen been serious about dismantling Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and even Fatah, and started doing what he needed to do, the ball would have been hit squarely back into Israel's court and no amount of explaining or waffling by Sharon would absolve him of the obligation to abide by his end of the agreement and begin pullouts of military forces and removal of settlements. Instead of a bold Anwar Sadat-like move by Mazen, it is now back to square one with Yasser Arafat.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2003-9-8 11:01:31 PM  

#6  I offer the following guarantees:

1. I guarantee I will not interfere as the IAF tries to make mincemeat of any and every member of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Al-Aksa, Fatah, the Palestinial Liberation Army, Hezbollah, and any and all other paleo terror organizations.

2. I guarantee I will rub your nose it it every time you do something stupid, arrogant, or unsanitary. I will assist anyone else in doing the same.

3. I guarantee that anything I feel is worthy for you is also worthy for every other paleomonkey we find shooting off his mouth, or trying to blow himself and others up, throwing rocks, taunting Israelis, or just causing trouble. This DOES include anything, right down to jaywalking and littering.

4. I guarantee I will applaud any and all Israeli strikes that kill one or more members of HAMAS, Islamic Jihad, Palestinian Liberation Army, or any other such pile of garbage.

5. I guarantee I will support Israel in its right to self-determination and peace within recognized borders, and will do whatever is necessary to make that support as concrete as possible.

6. Speaking of concrete, I guarantee I will help Israel pour the concrete for Arafart's (and any other worthy 'dignitary's') shoes, and to help move him/them to an appropriate date with the fishies of the deep.

Push a little harder, and we'll come up with some additional guarantees.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2003-9-8 4:32:33 PM  

#5  How about getting some "guarentees" from your boss?
Not that they'd mean anything.
Posted by: tu3031   2003-9-8 4:09:22 PM  

#4  I trust we have ceased signing checks to the PLA for the time being ...
Posted by: Super Hose   2003-9-8 3:18:18 PM  

#3  mhw - as most people here know, ive been a relative dove (by rantburg standards) on the Pal situation, and was willing to give Abbas the benefit of the doubt - I must say that I am much more skeptical of Mr Q.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2003-9-8 2:42:48 PM  

#2  We won't support Ahmed Q because Arafish is pulling the strings. Until Arafish it taken out of the picture, we'll just watch.
Posted by: Charles   2003-9-8 1:58:21 PM  

#1  Key is our (US) reaction to the newest member of "As the Bank Burns" while our favorite actors (Mazen and Dahlan) are written out of the show.

Sadly, I feel Arafat ends up on top while Powell caves.

Posted by: Daniel King   2003-9-8 1:05:40 PM  

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