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God Bless Those who Protect our Liberty
Past, Present and Future.
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Posted on 10/05/2003 6:17:28 PM PDT by blam
Britons join in a chorus of fear for Arafat
By David Blair in Ramallah
(Filed: 06/10/2003)
Amid the rubble of Yasser Arafat's besieged headquarters, an Italian male voice choir appeared yesterday singing: "Goodbye, darling."
The 20 singers from Turin gathered near a pile of wrecked cars, all crushed by Israeli tanks, and serenaded the Palestinian leader from outside his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Yet nothing, not even the presence of pro-Palestinian activists from Devon who joined a "human shield", could lift the fearful atmosphere in the compound where Mr Arafat and his closest aides awaited Israeli retaliation after Saturday's suicide bombing in Haifa.
When Israel's cabinet decided last month to "remove" Mr Arafat, thousands of Palestinians mounted a defiant show of support at the headquarters.
This time, when the prospect of Israeli action became real, Mr Arafat's only friends appeared to be the Italian choir and 18 self-styled peace activists, four of them British. No Palestinians joined the throng. And even the Britons' support appeared lukewarm.
"We feel it's up to the Palestinian people to remove their president," said Roy Ratcliffe, 61, from Devon. "We're here to defend their democratic rights." Israeli officials carefully increased the pressure on Mr Arafat. "When the time comes he will be expelled," said one. "The clock is already ticking."
The choir, who are touring the West Bank and Gaza, performed a collection of numbers originally composed by Italian partisans during the Second World War. The lyrics may not have been of comfort to the man Israeli cabinet ministers have publicly threatened with death.
"If I die, put a flower in the soil and it will remember me," sang the choir.
The songs echoed among freshly painted banners shouting defiance in broken English from the compound's bullet-scarred walls. "People's Peace and Democracy joins forces with the president in his courageous attitudes," read one.
As the choir sang, Mr Arafat held emergency talks with his closest aides and Ahmed Qureia, the newly appointed Palestinian prime minister.
Afterwards, he delivered a short statement. "I am condemning from my heart this terrible attack," he said.
Mr Arafat declared a state of emergency across the Palestinian-controlled territories last night. He is expected to take steps to unify the command of all the Palestinian security forces.
These gestures may be intended to persuade Israel that he is serious about preventing further suicide attacks. But his control is minimal and any declarations emanating from his increasingly isolated headquarters have a symbolic ring.
Palestinians have a right to slaughter Israelis?
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God Bless Those who Protect our Liberty
Past, Present and Future.
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That's funny!
I got what Arafat's flower needs right here.
I hate to leave you but I really must say, Oh goodnight sweetheart, gooooood.... BOOM!
with apologies to Calvin Carter and James (Pookie) Hudson and the Spaniels.
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