Arafat seriously ill ... near death?

It was nearly one hour. But in the meantime Arafat refused this offer,later he agreed.

Promising developments?


Militant rivals show unity behind Arafat
October 29, 2004 - 2:27PM


The militant Palestinian group Hamas said it was setting aside its differences with ailing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and called for a united Palestinian leadership to work toward general elections.

It was the strongest indication yet that Hamas might take part in general elections for the first time.

Hamas, whose suicide bombings against Israelis have often torpedoed Arafat's own peace bids with Israel, rejects the existence of a Jewish state.

Up to now, Hamas has refused to take part in elections or any other processes linked to the Palestinian Authority, because Hamas rejects the interim peace accords with Israel that set up Arafat's administration.

Hamas, Arafat's main rival, boycotted the only Palestinian general election, in 1996. A date for a new election has not been set, but a voter registration was recently concluded, and Hamas took part in that.

The sudden turn for the worse in Arafat's health prompted questions about the power vacuum the 75-year-old Palestinian Authority president would leave behind if he dies.

AdvertisementArafat, exhausted from an two-week-long ailment, agreed to fly to Paris for medical treatment, his first trip outside the West Bank - or even his compound in Ramallah - in nearly three years.

Because of his deteriorating condition, Israel lifted its travel ban on Arafat, allowing him to leave the West Bank for the first time since 2001 and to return if he recovers.

In a rare show of Palestinian unity, Ismail Haniyeh, a leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip wished Arafat well in television interviews.

"Hamas, confirming its honour, credibility and honesty, sets aside political differences at this humanitarian moment in confronting the Zionists and in confronting the effects of the siege against the Palestinian people and President Yasser Arafat," he said in comments on the pan-Arab satellite television station al-Jazeera.

"We wish President Arafat a quick recovery and we wish that the siege against the entire Palestinian people and President Arafat is broken."

He urged the Palestinian people "to be united in the ranks of the intefadeh (uprising) and resistance."

In comments carried on al-Arabiya, another pan-Arab satellite television station, Haniyeh called for "formation of a united national leadership or a high Palestinian authority based on a political program and to prepare for Palestinian general elections."

Hamas has in the past repeatedly called for a joint leadership to decide Palestinian future policies. Previous attempts among Palestinian factions to come up with a united front with Israel have failed.

Palestinian Parliament Speaker Rauhi Fattouh, the man who in the event of Arafat's death would replace him as Palestinian Authority president for 60 days, until elections are held, has urged the Palestinians to be united.

"I want all our Palestinian people and its political forces to unite its word and position in these circumstances when national unity is most needed," he said on al-Jazeera.

© 2004 AP


http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/29/1098992290494.html

Who next for Palestinians?
October 29, 2004 - 10:08AM


With speculation about Yasser Arafat's health rife, Palestinians officials are trying to ready themselves for a possible succession struggle.

The death of Mr Arafat, widely regarded as the symbol of the Palestinian struggle for statehood, would amount to an earthquake in Middle East politics.

All members of Yasser Arafat's Fatah political movement living abroad have been summoned to Ramallah.

The Israeli Government yesterday was putting together military contingency plans for unrest in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Mr Arafat had yesterday reportedly rallied sufficiently to attend early-morning Muslim prayers, but aides described him as "tired and weak".

The Palestinian leadership is ill prepared for Mr Arafat's death. Fearing for his own position, he has been careful not to groom a successor.

Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi said: "It's only natural to expect that there would be either a power struggle or there would be a loss of cohesion."

The Palestinian basic law dictates that the successor as leader should be the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council. But that position is currently held by a little-known backbencher not believed to be a serious candidate.

More serious options would be the current Prime Minister, Ahmed Qurie, and his predecessor, Mahmoud Abbas, both long-time confidants of Mr Arafat.

However, neither man has widespread public support and both are considered part of a discredited old guard.

That could mean a new leader coming from among a host of younger candidates, including the former interior minister, Mohammed Dahlan, or Marwan Barghouti, who is thought to to be most popular among ordinary Palestinians. However, Mr Barghouti is serving five life sentences in an Israeli jail for terrorist offences.

- agencies

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/29/1098992273969.html

Daring to hope - eyes closed...

Preparing for life after Arafat
October 30, 2004

A new Palestinian leader will face huge problems seeking peace with Israel, writes Ed O'Loughlin.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/29/1099028212641.html

Sources: Arafat era is over

Something new:

Arafat 'in critical condition'

I've got some friends in Israel who are travelling here for a wedding this weekend. We're sort of thinking they should stay here for a while.

There is some considerable flutter this morning on the live-feed news wires that "un-named sources in France" say Arafat has died ... no confirmation, some semi-official denial has been reported ... and these "early reports" from "un-named sources" more often are wrong than right.

Actually a journalist at the Bush news conference said that Arafat has passed away.

Bush answer:
and he will force the peace in the middle east.


According to CNNI TV he is alive but in very critical condition.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/110504X.shtml

Arafat is on life support. Coma serious.

Nothing confirming his death on Al Bawaba, MEMRI, Stratfor, or the Reuters, BBC, AFP, AP, or UPI live-feed news wires as yet, all of which have had the Life Support/Coma/Deteriorating/Very Grave Condition thing since late morning, early afternoon, with no real additional info.

Only a matter of time, I'm sure.

Latest report from the ABC in Oz: That he's actually brain dead & is being kept "alive" by life support system.

Yeah, "Brain Dead" has been gettin' lotsa mention, and gettin' vigorous denial as well, from sources expected to pose such regardless the truth of the matter. I suspect that much, anyway, "Brain Dead" well may be true. It would make sense for the concerned parties to be workin' diligently on details and ramifications of The Big Announcement

Yes, that makes a lot of sense from their point of view, timberlandko. They need to manage the transition very carefully.

Arafat is brain dead: Israeli minister
November 5, 2004 - 5:04PM


Yasser Arafat is brain dead and is being kept on life support, an Israeli Cabinet minister says.

Justice Minister Yosef Lapid is the first senior Israeli official to speak in detail about Arafat's condition.

The source of Lapid's information was not immediately clear.

Palestinian officials accompanying Arafat at a French military hospital have refused to give detailed reports on his condition.

French doctors have only said that Arafat's condition is complex, and have denied reports he has died.

Interviewed on Israel TV's Channel Two, Lapid said: "I don't know more than what the whole world knows. It is clear now that he is brain dead, clinically dead, and they are keeping him alive artificially. They will need to decide when to stop it."

© 2004 AP

Bush eyes peace opportunity
November 5, 2004 - 10:54AM/the AGE

The White House said today it saw a new opportunity to advance Mideast peace, with President George W. Bush's second term secured and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's bid to withdraw from Gaza set for next northern summer.

"I think it's very important for our friends the Israelis to have a peaceful Palestinian state living on their border," Bush said at his first news conference since winning re-election.

"It's very important for the Palestinian people to have a peaceful, hopeful future."

Bush stopped short of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's declaration that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the world's most important political challenge.

"I agree with him that the Middle East peace is a very important part of a peaceful world," Bush said at a news conference.

Sharon called Bush today to congratulate him on his electoral victory.

The United States was also keeping close watch on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's condition. A senior Palestinian official said Arafat was in a coma in a French hospital.

At the news conference, the president reiterated a vision he embraced in June 2002 of an independent Palestinian state coexisting with Israel.

The so-called road map for peace called for the new Palestinian state in 2005, which begins in less than two months.

"My hope is that we'll make good progress," he said.

But Bush said nothing about what steps he planned to take, or what outside factors might fuel momentum.

He did not mention the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a list of foreign-policy priorities at the start of his news conference.

At the top of that list was national security, followed by confronting disease, hunger and poverty, and encouraging freedom and democracy.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Sharon's bid to withdraw from Gaza after nearly 40 years of occupation could give the process a shove.

Sharon announced the plan in December 2003, and it cleared the Israeli parliament last week.

Before it becomes law, it still requires two more parliamentary votes after fine-tuning by a committee.

Legislation is rarely rejected after passing the initial vote.

The withdrawal plan "provides a historic opportunity", McClellan said.

Bush has endorsed the plan as a way of dislodging the Israeli-Palestinian deadlock.

Senior administration officials said the very act of Bush being re-elected would re-ignite the peace process, because both the Israelis and Palestinians now know they will be dealing with the same administration for the next four years.

Israeli government officials said Bush's re-election would boost the Gaza withdrawal plan, for example.

Looming over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the declining health of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, being watched carefully by the White House.

Aides to the Palestinian leader said today he was in grave condition in a French hospital.

His replacement could open new peace prospects, because both Bush and Sharon have refused to consult with Arafat, administration officials said.

In his second term, former President Clinton had reached for Mideast peace as part of his legacy.

Clinton failed, and blamed Arafat.

The Palestinian leader's passing could give the peace process a significant boost, experts say.

"Certainly with Arafat out of the way, you have an impediment removed," said Dennis Ross, the chief Middle East negotiator for the first President Bush and for Clinton.

But, he said, the Bush administration must expect a protracted, potentially tumultuous process for replacing Arafat, and should begin pressing now for elections in which Palestinians choose a new leader.

If Arafat passes from the scene, whoever is elected or appointed to replace him "couldn't be worse" from the United States viewpoint, said Ross, who recently wrote a book titled "The Missing Peace" on his experiences negotiating with Arafat and other leaders in the region.

A new, and eminently plausible, wrinkle:

Source, timber? Reliable?

The latest news still says that Arafat is unconscious/in a coma, and keep alive by maschines.

Anything more is just plain gossip.