Posted on 05/31/2004 3:32:45 PM PDT by Robert_Paulson2
Egypt tells Arafat: Reform or be removed - report
Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman has reportedly warned Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to relax his grip on the reins of Palestinian power or face the possibility that Egypt and the US will cease to block Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from carrying out his threat to "remove" the chairman.
According to a report Monday in the pan-Arab Al-Quds-al-Arabi, Suleiman handed Arafat three demands:
First, to unite all the Palestinian security forces under one command authority, and into three components. These include the police, the Preventative Security Service (equivalent of Israel's General Security Service), and the Palestinian foreign security service (equivalent of Israel's Mossad).
Secondly, give PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei complete authority to conduct negotiations with Israel over Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan.
Thirdly, stand aside and accept a symbolic position and let others lead the Palestinian Authority.
If these demands are not met, the Egyptian-American shield saving Arafat's life may be removed, Al-Quds-al-Arabi reported.
The Egyptian emissary, who last Monday shuttled between Jerusalem and Ramallah to discuss Egypt's role following a possible Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, warned Arafat that the suggested political and security reforms are necessary and will facilitate Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's initiative.
Arafat was given a deadline of June 15 to give a decisive reply with regards to the suggestion or else his future will be "left in the hands of Ariel Sharon."
The newspaper reported that although the list of reforms was communicated by Egypt, it was drawn up in conjunction with the US and Israel.
A senior Palestinian official informed al-Quds al-Arabi that the US is eager to push forward a peace plan between Israel and the Palestinian to cover for the letdown of its policy in Iraq and improve its image in the Arab world.
The same official met with Arafat in Ramallah, where the PA chairman told him he intends to refuse the Egyptian demands, because their implementation means the end of his de facto leadership and his reduction to a purely symbolic figure, wrote al-Quds al-Arabi.
Egyptian newspaper: PA, factions to meet in Cairo to discuss ceasefire with Israel
Also Monday, the Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram reported that PM Qurei will soon meet representatives of all Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Jihad, in order to discuss a consensual agreement over a ceasefire with Israel.
At the meeting, which will be held in Cairo, Qurei will notify Palestinian factions that an agreement over a ceasefire will require them to respect it and each violation of the agreement will be considered "illegal."
Under such agreement, the PA holds the right to take "appropriate actions" against the factions who breach the agreement by perpetrating violent attacks against Israel, al-Ahram reported.
The newspaper said that if Qurei finalizes a ceasefire agreement with all Palestinian factions, and pledges to take concrete actions against those who breach it, then Prime Minister Sharon will be willing to meet Qurei.
Sharon expressed his willingness to meet Qurei during his meeting last week in Jerusalem with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Suleiman. Sharon said, however, that he would only meet Qurei on condition that the latter proves that the PA is willing to and capable of controlling terror groups.
The sand in his hour glass is down to a couple of grains.
He's over 70. If he were going to be "dead meat" he would have done so decades ago. He'll maneuver just enough to get the heat off and remain in power.
Egypt has been very quiet all this time, but they are very big and they are right there.
I wonder who or what is that gets most of the credit for this development. Sharon? Powell? The troops in Gaza? Encouraging and intriguing.
I read somewhere that they were willing to oversee some security and enforcement issues in Gaza... as Israel withdraws.
I wonder if JORDAN will be willing to do the same with the West bank palestinian territories that Israel is going to abandon as well?
My reaction on reading this article is that a deadline of June 15 does not seem to me to be a real deadline. They tell him he needs to step aside but he's got more than 2 weeks to "think it over"? I would think if they were serious it would be more like 48 hours. I'll be happy to be proven wrong in the event that Egypt does give Sharon the green light to give arafart a one way ticket to allah - but somehow I'm not buying it.
Might not be a bad deal. There is a peace treaty with Egypt, so if Egypt will accept some responsibility to police their own it could get real quiet in the region.
Arafat needs to relax power so that another terrorist with a suit has more of it? This is all a farce. It doesn't matter who Arafat gives more power to. The whole regime is a terrorist one and must go. Even if Arafat was eliminated, the Palestinian Authority would continue to be a terrorist regime. Would we have delt with the Taliban if Mullah Omar was no longer in power? Of course not. The PLO-PA are just as terrorist as Hamas with the same goal to destroy Israel. And I have been hearing that the US is fearing a Hamas take over in Gaza (as if they weren't already in control of the 98% of it that isn't in Israeli control), and want the Palestinian Authority to have power. What a joke. Like the PA isn't terrorist.
It depends what you consider quiet. They continue to support Arab terrorists murdering Jews, specifically through their smuggling tunnels and home made weapons they supply to the terrorists through these tunnels in Gaza.
Right. Egyptian tanks are not bombarding Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Egyptian bombers are not flying over Israel. What is Egypt's relationship with the Gaza Strip?
It is all a fake peace. It's a hunda (a cease-fire where they reload). Egypt continues to rearm each year and continue to build their armies. It continues to breach the peace treaty by not having an ambassador in Israel, spying on Israeli positions with unmanned drones, and supporting the terrorists and their operations right on their border which they do nothing about, but support. They also incite anti-Semitic and anti-American propaganda in their state media. The fact Egypt does not police its border now will not change even if Israel expelled the Jews in Gaza and left the 2% of it it currently controls. Their anti-Israel activities will increase as a result.
I suspect that is what this is about. New sheriff in town?
He is a coward, he will comply.
I think Egypt is afraid that the Palestinians will cause them serious grief when the Israelis leave- that's why they let Israel keep Gaza in the first place. Same story with Jordan ceding the West Bank- the inhabitants are more trouble than the territory is worth.
Egypt is putting very little pressure on Israel mainly because the US is doing everything possible to keep the two apart, including invading Iraq so Israel didn't need to. We should hope the peaceniks don't win this Nov because Israel would then be on its own. We don't want that.
It was part of Egypt prior to the 1967 war. When they signed the peace treaty they let Israel keep it, probably because they didn't want the Palestinians running loose in their country.
Egypt continues to support anti-Israel terror groups and continues to spread anti-Semitic propaganda in its media and schools. I see no reason why there should be a push for Egypt to take over the border as if it doesn't have it today. The US has some observers on the border with Egypt through the UN but these do nothing. The US isn't really keeping apart Egypt, but it is Israel that is detering Egypt...for now. As I said Egypt continues to rearm, mainly through the billions of dollars given to Egypt every year by the US which in turn are used to purchase US weapons. Israel is glad Saddam Hussein is gone from power, though I don't know if I would support the notion that Israel was going to invade Iraq, so the US doing so prevented this move as you say. Regarding the US elections, frankly US policy towards Israel will not change no matter who is in power. Policy towards Israel's neighbors maybe, but to Israel itself there will be little change in actual policy. Israel will continue to buy US weapons for defense, the US will continue to support the establishment of a PLO terror state, the US will continue on the most part to act as an Israeli ally in the UN, the US will continue to maintain its embassy in Tel-Aviv, view the territories as "occupied," etc. Israel will not be on its own even if Kerry were to be elected, though a Bush reelection would probably be better for Israel in terms of groups behind the president, as there will be the Evangelical Christians who could lobby for pro-Israel administration decisions.
Its all about the money...stupid.
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