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2003-08-30 Middle East
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Heavy Israeli, US pressure on Arafat to stop pushing Abbas out
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JPost - Reg Reqâd - Back to Byzantium
A meeting of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) meant to take place on Monday has been postponed until next Thursday due to intense US and Israeli pressure on the Palestinian Authority not to topple the government of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen).
Sources in Jerusalem say the US administration has delivered a message to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, saying that the end of Abbasâ government would mean the end of the âroad mapâ peace process. US officials from the American Consulate in Jerusalem met with senior Fatah leaders and delivered the White Houseâs position.
No Abbas = gloves off, since Arafatâs shown he wonât do anything positive
Abbas has urged Palestinian ministers to support his demand to take control of all the PA security forces, most of which remain under Arafatâs tight grasp. Abbas reportedly told them they should threaten to resign if Arafat does not cede control. Information Minister Nabil Amr, a close ally of Abbas, Security Minister Muhammad Dahlan, another Abbas loyalist, and Abbas himself have been pushing for a crackdown on Hamas and other rejectionist groups.
Arafat, however, is opposed to any drastic measures against them. His aides said he is prepared to take only limited measures against Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and unruly Fatah gunmen.
The US, sensing that the âroad mapâ would be seriously jeopardized if Abbasâ government were to fall, also told Arafat that the Palestinians could forget about attaining their own state in the near future if Abbas were to be removed.
Israel has also delivered a sharp message to the Palestinian Authority saying that Israel would not recognize or negotiate with a Palestinian government led by Yasser Arafat. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said during a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuriy Fedotov that Arafat and his newly appointed national security advisor Jibril Rajoub (the former West Bank commander of the Preventive Security Service) are embarking on a move to replace the Abbas government, and that this could come to a head during a confidence vote expected to take place at the PLC session on Thursday.
Many Palestinians said both Abbas and Dahlan are fuming over Rajoubâs appointment, a move seen in the context of Arafatâs attempts to retain control over the dozen or so PA security forces.
One Israeli official said that although Israel is unhappy with Abbasâs performance, in that he has not fulfilled commitments to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, Jerusalem does feel he is genuinely opposed to the continuation of terror. Israel doesnât want to see anything happen in the PA that would strengthen Arafatâs position, such as the removal of Abbas and Dahlan and their replacement with Qurei and Rajoub.
The special session of the PLC was called by its chairman Abu Ala at the behest of PM Abbas in an effort to gain support for his leadership after being in power for 100 days. Arafat loyalists from his Fatah movement have increased their opposition to Abbasâ leadership in the past few days, saying that the Palestinian Prime Minister had not achieved anything significant in his dealings with Israel in his term of office so far. Some of them said Arafat is seriously considering replacing Abbas with PLC Speaker Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala).
Kadoura Fares, a Fatah legislator, said he and some of his colleagues are tired of the power struggle between Abbas and Arafat. If it continues, "one of them will have to be pushed aside," Fares was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. He added that in this case Abbas should step down, as he was appointed, not elected like Arafat.
Fares and other Fatah legislators said this week that Abbas had to understand that "he was not in Arafatâs league."
"Abbas is now fighting for his political survival," a Palestinian source told The Jerusalem Post ,. "The countdown to his resignation has started," the source added.
Khaled Abu Toameh and Herb Keinon contributed to this report.
Well, Arafat will either A) Call this as a bluff, in which case the gloves come off, or B) Heâll marginally give Abbas a face-saving bone...I predict B, as thatâs how Arafatâs stayed alive and in power so far 
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Posted by Frank G 2003-08-30 12:33:30 PM||
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Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2003-8-30 11:05:27 PM||
2003-8-30 11:05:27 PM||
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