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| Middle East |
| PA purges coming? |
| 2002-05-03 |
| A Fatah leaflet distributed in Jenin over the week accused Arafat’s economic advisor Muhamed Rashid and Gaza Preventative Security Force boss Muhamed Dahlan of conspiring with Israel to replace Arafat and cancel the UN fact-finding. Fatah leadership in Jenin called on Arafat to reign in his aides. "Conspiring with Israel" results in your bullet-riddled body being hung by the heels in front of a screaming mob, with cigarettes being put out in the bullet holes. So too, a leafet distributed by the Al Aksa Martyrs in Ramallah on April 25th, entitled, "A Warning to Rashid" stated, "At a time when the Israeli occupation forces have invaded our towns, villages, refugee camps and streets there is a US led conspiracy targeting the rights of our people to liberate our sacred places and establish our independence. Part of the conspiracy is carried out by collaborator. Mohammed Rashid is leading this corrupt gang that wants to sell our dreams cheaply.... We will not let Rashid enjoy the money that he’s stolen from our peoples’ bank accounts." The leaflet demands that Arafat rein in Rashid "otherwise the people will come and get him." Oooh. Is Yasser going to suggest "letting a million flowers bloom" and then unlease the The al Aksa leaflet is similar to a Fatah leaflet distributed in Gaza in early 2000 ahead of the murder of Hisham Maki, the head of the Palestinian Television Authority by Fatah members for his involvement in corruption involving the stealing of millions of dollars worth of public funds. Alas, poor Hisham... Both leaflets, and another distributed this week in Jenin express support for West Bank Preventative Security Chief Jibril Rajoub. That leaflet claims that Rashid, who is not a Palestinian, "is the engineer of al the chief conspiracies from Oslo to Arafat’s imprisonment." The leaflet charges that Dahlan came to Ramallah from Gaza to control the flow of people coming to see Arafat together with Rashid. Jibril's the goon Yasser pulled a rod on a couple months ago in the midst of a The leaflets are viewed as part of the power jockeying inside the Palestinian leadership which preceded the IDF’s lifting of the seige on Arafat’s headquarters Wednesday night. It is expected that Arafat will conduct a reshuffling of his security leadership beginning at his meeting with his chief advisor and ministers on Saturday. Dahlan and Rashid are considered Arafat’s closest associates while Rajoub has fallen from grace in recent weeks. Seems like Rajoub is trying to add a little to his power base by knocking down a couple rivals. Yasser isn't going to like that, since Rajoub already has too much power by his lights. Rajoub could end up having A Terrible Accident, unless Yasser manages to Die an Honorable Death in the Bosom of His People - a bit of arsenic might help him along, or they could get one of those patented Russian letters... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |