Expelling Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat will only complicate matters for Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and his new cabinet, Palestinian officials in Ramallah warned Monday.
| "Nope. Nope. Can't do it..." |
"Abbas will have to pack and leave the same night Arafat is deported," one official told The Jerusalem Post. "There is no reason why Abbas should stay."
| "Yep. Yasser goes, they all go..." |
The official said the new prime minister, who is seen by many Palestinians as an American puppet, would face accusations of colluding with Israel and the US in getting rid of Arafat. "The Palestinian street™ will not accept Abbas and [Minister for Security Affairs Mohammed] Dahlan if Arafat is removed by force," he added. "Arafat remains as popular as ever because most Palestinians believe Abbas and Dahlan were imposed on the Palestinian leadership to serve Israel's security interests."
| "Whereas Yasser imposed himself. That's different..." |
Another Palestinian official said that deporting Arafat to the Gaza Strip or to any Arab country would lead to an upsurge in violence and total anarchy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "Who said that the attacks would stop if President Arafat is in Gaza City or southern Sudan?" he asked rhetorically.
| "You think they ain't got telephones there?" |
"On the contrary, we will have more suicide attacks against Israel," the official added.
"In addition to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Fatah will also resume its attacks to retaliate against the expulsion of its leader."
| "You don't want 'em to unleash al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, do ya?" |
He said that by expelling Arafat, Israel would play into the hands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. "This would be a big gift to the Islamic groups," he noted. "Abbas and Dahlan would never be able to reign in the extremists if something happens to Arafat."
| Oh, well. The situation's intolerable. Kicking Yasser out will make it intolerable but different. Guess all they can do is kill him... |
|