 Having concluded a pact of unity, Palestinian factions and leaders are debating two formulas to usher in the post-Yasser Arafat era, senior Palestinian sources said yesterday.- Under one formula Arafat, now on a life-support machine at a French military hospital, will be declared temporarily incapacitated. This will enable the Palestinian Authority to set up a triumvirate to assume the functions of the head of the Palestinian Authority for an unspecified period. Thus the leadership could wait for as long as necessary until it becomes clear whether or not Arafat lives and is capable of resuming his duties. "Such an arrangement will take the urgency out of the question of (Arafat's) succession," a senior Palestinian official told Arab News on condition of anonymity. "It will give the leadership to prepare for elections in good time and mobilize the resources needed."
| A triumvarite is a great idea unless you're member #3, and #1 and #2 start looking at you in a certain way ... |
| "Yon Mahmoud hath a lean and hungry look..." |
- Another formula is to declare Arafat to be permanently incapacitated. Under the Palestinian Constitution, known as The Basic Law, permanent incapacity has the same effect as death. Thus the leadership would not have to wait for Arafat's fate to be decided, a process that could take months, if not more. In some cases patients are kept alive on life-support machines for years. The second formula, however, would oblige the Palestinian leadership to hold elections within 60 days. During that period the speaker of the Palestinian National Assembly will act as head of the authority.
"There is still no consensus on which formula to adopt," the source said. " But we expect a decision within days rather than weeks." He indicated that several Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, were involved in the discussions regarding the transition. In Gaza, Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei met security chiefs and representatives of Palestinian factions, a day after 14 religious and secular Palestinian groups convened and called for unity. "The demand is to form a unified leadership," said Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman.
| Unity comes easily to Paleos ... |
| Option #3...Send in Al Haig. |
|