When it Rains it Pours
As the tumultuous events leading up to the crisis this weekend in Gaza have shown, stringent criticism of Arafat within Palestinian civil society is no longer limited to a few lone activists and intellectuals, but has now been taken up not only by the common man on the street but also by Arafat’s loyalists, friends, allies, and subordinates. Censure Heaped Upon Arafat by International Community As Well:
The Quartet is Impatient:
Egypt is Disillusioned:
UN Joins the Gang:
While Mr. Roed-Larsen was careful to criticize Israel in equally strong terms, he singled out President Arafat in particular for censure. “The Palestinian Authority is in deep distress, and is in real danger of collapse", he said. Despite the anger generated by his comments among Palestinians, UN Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan staunchly backed his special envoy, and refused, in the face of intense Palestinian pressure, to disassociate himself from his criticisms and conclusions. Palestinians are Furious:
No Longer Above Suspicion:
Whether the much-demanded reforms will ever take place is, at the moment, subject of much conjecture and wishful thinking. But that President Arafat, unlike Caesar’s wife, is no longer above suspicion, is clear. The Palestinian people – in their various assorted ways – have seen to that. http://www.miftah.org |