Yasser Arafat: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 08:46, 16 October 2006

Revision as of 19:00, 16 October 2006

Line 100:

== Political survival, marginalization and controversy ==

Arafat's long personal and political survival was taken by most Western commentators as a sign of his mastery of [[asymmetric warfare]] and his skill as a tactician, given the extremely dangerous nature of politics of the [[Middle East]] and the frequency of [[assassination]]s. Some commentators believe his survival was largely due to [[Israel]]'s fear that he could become a [[martyr]] for the [[Palestinian]] cause if he was to be assassinated or even arrested by Israel. Others believe that Israel kept Arafat alive because it came to fear Arafat less than [[Hamas]] and the other [[Islamist]] movements gaining support over Arafat's secular organization. The complex and fragile web of relations between the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab states also contributed to Arafat's longevity as Palestinian leader.

Line 167 ⟶ 168:

Arafat's official biographer, Alan Hart, as well as Egyptian authorities, have always maintained that Arafat's correct birthplace was Cairo. So far, no party to the controversy has brought the case to a court to ask for a rectification of the certificate (see French [[Civil Code]], L99-101).

Upon Arafat's death, Speaker [[Rawhi Fattuh]] succeeded Arafat as interim President of the [[Palestinian Authority]]. [[PLO]] Secretary-General [[Mahmoud Abbas]] was selected Chairman of the PLO and Foreign Minister Farouk Kaddoumi became head of [[Fatah]]. [[Ahmed Qurei]] remained as Prime Minister and took additional security responsibilities. Abbas won the [[Palestinian presidential election, 2005|January 2005 presidential election]] by a comfortable margin, solidifying himself as the successor to Arafat as leader of the [[Palestinians]]. Finally, in January 2006, Arafat's Fatah — according to George W. Bush an "obstacle to peace" — was replaced by the [[Hamas]], who won the legislative elections. The immediate reaction of Israel and of the United States was to cut all transfer of tax receipts and funds, paralyzing all the more the Palestinian economy (a third of the Palestinian population is dependent on the salaries paid to the PA's civil servants, which were financed by the PA's tax receipts).

==Bibliography==