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| Israel-Palestine | ||
| Guns Turned on Arafat's Authority | ||
| 2004-07-22 | ||
| via WaPo Login: gnafgnnsy1@lnubb.org / gnafgnnsy GAZA CITY, July 21 -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is facing the most serious internal threat to his authority in a decade, as militants are turning guns against their own government and long-festering political tensions are erupting into gunfights and kidnappings in the streets of the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian officials, militant leaders and analysts. The internecine violence has exposed deep fissures in Arafat's Fatah political movement, the dominant faction in the 10-year-old Palestinian Authority, and has escalated demands across Palestinian society that Arafat surrender some of his powers and reform a governmental system riddled with corruption. Isolated for more than two years in his presidential compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Arafat has exercised diminishing control over his party and his supporters in Gaza. The events unfolding in this crowded, impoverished enclave suggest that Fatah is engulfed in full-scale fratricide. Feuding Fatah political leaders have created their own militias, the movement's armed wing has turned against its creators, and reform efforts have become entangled in the power struggles.
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| Posted by:.com |
| #9 In a nutshell... |
| Posted by: .com 2004-07-22 6:34:14 PM |
| #8 Arafat reforming his government is like asking the fox to tidy up the chicken coop. Too long on the job. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-07-22 4:00:03 PM |
| #7 ..and has escalated demands across Palestinian society that Arafat surrender some of his powers and reform a governmental system riddled with corruption. Kind of silly, really, to think or expect that ol' money-skimming Arafart himself could actually reform "a governmental system riddled with corruption". |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-07-22 11:12:40 AM |
| #6 he EU has been pouring money into the corrupt sink for years and years. These EU petrowhores have used their cash to curry favor with the arab states. If the dynamic were changed, and Israel had oil, the EU would be apoplectic over palestinian terror. It's laughable how easily -- and obviously -- they can be bought. |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2004-07-22 11:04:43 AM |
| #5 Sorry, correction - the egyptians also plan to invite the EU, the UN, and Russia. Oh, well, Id still say its a good day. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-07-22 9:38:21 AM |
| #4 the movement’s armed wing has turned against its creators The Frankenfatah monster. |
| Posted by: Spot 2004-07-22 9:19:01 AM |
| #3 as info dot com, Hamas, though it cooperates with Fatah (despite denials from Fatah) is NOT part of Fatah. These are INTERNAL Fatah groups fighting it out. A different civil war (if it comes to that - theyre on the verge, but a few kidnappings and firing on a building is quite civil war yet) than what some envisioned - not Hamas vs Fatah, but Fatah vs Fatah. I also note that the US, Israel and Egypt are now pushing a peace conference in October - a FOUR way conf - Israel, Pals, Egypt, US - to work out the withdrawl from Gaza. Note well who is not (at this point, anyways) invited - no EU, no UN, no Russia. Presumably this officially supplants the Road Map. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-07-22 9:14:56 AM |
| #2 "The truth is that both sides are corrupt." I am shocked, shocked to learn that corruption is going on in here |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2004-07-22 8:48:58 AM |
| #1 Washington Post is way behind the curve on this one. So is most of the world for that matter. The EU has been pouring money into the corrupt sink for years and years. The Saudis cut back their Paleo subsidy a year ago. |
| Posted by: mhw 2004-07-22 8:38:15 AM |
