Granted, Arafat's a vile thug, but he's their vile thug and
symbol of their struggle--and they're bound to rally round him, even
without gunmen requesting their attendence at the
rallies. Anybody can predict that
this sort of threat will only make Arafat more popular. {The only thing
that was good at making him unpopular was actual governing. I seem to
recall that a lot of people were getting very sick of the PA a few years
back--mad enough to risk complaining. Think maybe that's one of the
reasons Arafat launched the second Intifada: to distract the people?}

So why make the threats? Is this desperation, or klutziness? Or are they
planning to make a big deal out of stomping him, and hang in there for
the resulting explosions? I'd worry about that--if some bigshot
Palestinian were to move fast enough he could take up the mantle of Arafat
and consolidate his power with a vengence war; and things could look very
ugly for a long time.

Or is somebody being clever and this is meant as a distraction?
What happens to the Hamas bigwigs during this turmoil? If they have to
pop up and yell "We're important too!" it makes them
easier to find: that's good. If they have to go kiss Arafat's ring, then
maybe it helps consolidate control of the terror groups, which would also
be a good thing (makes decapitation or spying easier). (A pity
negotiation isn't possible.)