Issue No. 604
Opinion
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19 - 25 September 2002 Issue No. 604 Opinion |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Unique conference
The period 9-11 September 2002 is likely to prove seminal in the life of the Palestinian Authority and its President Yasser Arafat, as well as for the Palestinian Legislative Council. For when it convened at Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah the six- year-old council displayed hitherto unprecedented aspects: council members received Arafat without the customary warmth, professing neither respect nor welcome, to which Arafat responded with his trademark victory sign. The more Arafat went out of his way to win them over, breaking the flow of his formal address, the apprehension and embarrassment palpable, the less positively they responded. The most shocking moment was when Arafat, in an attempt to be light-hearted, forgetting that Israeli tanks were storming into refugee camps and self-rule territories as he spoke, congratulated Israelis on the Jewish new year, using the traditional Hebrew expression.
Among the many reasons for the council's change of heart was the Israeli decision to prevent two council members from Gaza from attending the meeting. A subsequent opinion poll revealed that, while 17 members of the council half-heartedly supported the PA, 51 members were opposed. And earlier, members had greeted the resignation of Nabil Amr during the council's first meeting after the Protective Shield Operation some five months ago, without even a murmur of surprise, though the former minister had consistently backed Arafat and worked to justify his actions since the PLO's Beirut days.
Within the council there is profound disappointment with the PA and the present cabinet only narrowly escaped a no-confidence motion. Which leaves Arafat with only a week in which to sort out the council's disagreements with the present cabinet, unless, of course, he is willing to chair a cabinet whose members do not support him.
This week's Soapbox speaker is a Cairo- based Palestinian activist.
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