It seems that the more unstable the situation of Yassir Arafat, chairman of the Palestinian Authority, the stronger he becomes. The man who was expelled from Jordan in 1970, and again from Lebanon in 1982, is facing yet another expulsion if the Israeli government indeed implements its fundamental decision.
The Israeli cabinet’s announcement has brought about a surge of Palestinian support for Arafat, and increased Arab support for the Palestinian struggle. It seems that every time Arafat loses power, it’s the Israeli government that relieves him from his plight.
Although during his residence in Tunis between 1982 and 1993, Arafat was considered the Palestinian leader, it was Israel who gave him his international status by recognizing him as the sole representative of the Palestinian people, and permitted him to return to his country after more than two decades of absence. Nowadays, although the U.S. refuses to recognize him as a leader, Israel is causing the U.S. to vocally oppose Arafat’s expulsion.
A random glance at a number of Middle Eastern newspapers reveals that Israel’s decision has raised the chairman’s popularity to new heights in the eyes of the Palestinians. Yet, in the Arab world Yassir Arafat is popular, not so much for his character as for his position as the ‘elected president of the Palestinian people,’ and as a symbol of the Palestinian struggle. In effect, the opinions voiced in the Arab media outside the Palestinian territories are more aggressive towards Israel, than they are supportive of Arafat.
At a meeting of Yemen’s political parties and organizations on Saturday, it was decided to condemn the Israeli decision to expel the “big fighting brother, President Yassir Arafat, head of the Palestinian National Authority.” The Yemenite newspaper A-‘Sahwa reported that participants at the meeting called on the international community to take responsibility, intervene and apply pressure to prevent the implementation of the Israeli decision.
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An announcement issued after the meeting stated, “The Zionist attacks against the Arab Palestinian people will never place an obstacle to the strong will of those fighting for the homeland and the holy places.” It added that torture, mass arrests, killing children, confiscating land and expulsion – all these constitute “terror in its most criminal form, it opposes all human values…the Yemenite parties have renewed their fierce stand supporting the Arab Palestinian people, whose resistance against the Israeli occupation is a legitimate struggle…”
Similar to this proclamation, two columnists in the popular Egyptian daily Al-Ahram referred to the Israeli decision, more than to Arafat, the person to be affected by it. “Israel has crossed all the red lines and does not attribute any significance to international treaties,” wrote Ibrahim Nafi’, the daily’s Editor-in-Chief, adding, “The decision to expel Arafat is not just a trial balloon – it expresses the dire situation of Israeli policy under the leadership of Ariel Sharon.”
“Israel is making strenuous efforts to reach a struggle and an explosion in the Middle East,” wrote Salama Ahmad Salama, another columnist in Al-Ahram, “and [Israel] is under the impression that the regional and international situation is suitable now for directing the last blow, in order to achieve its goals!” He adds that “the Israeli decision to expel Arafat or to kill him, as proposed by an Israeli minister, is the last move on the Middle East chess board, after which it will be easier for Israel to coerce the agreement it wants, in the best case scenario, or to reoccupy Gaza and the West Bank, in the worst case scenario.”
Salama asks if the Arab states will settle for limp protests against the U.S. “as was practiced dozens of times in the past, without even minimal response from the U.S. Administration.” The response to his question is probably ‘Yes’. That has been the tactic of the Arab regimes to date, and it seems nothing will change on September 22nd, when an emergency convention of Arab foreign ministers is expected to take place in New York, as reported in the Syrian paper Tishrin.
“There is nothing in the international consensus that can justify assaulting a president who was elected by his people, or justifying the desire to expel or kill him, as Israel wishes, with the conniving and corrupt assistance of the U.S.,” continues Salama.
In these significant points of Salama’s column, the only mention of Arafat is that of “the president who was elected by his people.” That was also the wording of the Arab League which emphasized “the Arab and international support of Chairman Arafat, who is the legally elected chairman of the Palestinian people,” as well as in the announcement of the Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Al-Mu’ashar, that “Israel’s decision to expel Chairman Arafat, who was elected legally by his people, cannot be part of the peace solution in the Middle East.”
In contrast, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa expressed a more sympathetic view of Arafat the person. “The chairman of the Palestinian Authority has filled a significant part in the peace efforts of the region…the decision to expel him may cause continuing instability in the Middle East,” he was quoted as saying in the Moroccan newspaper Al-Bayyan Al-Yawm.
The Palestinian people and media, however, are demonstrating a unified stand supporting Arafat. The newspapers are covered with proclamations supporting Arafat and pictures of the chairman surrounded by masses of supporters in his Ramallah compound. Palestinian television is continuously broadcasting pictures from protests in the Palestinian territories, and the video clips depict Arafat as a legend, a symbol, the hero of the Palestinian people. Popular protests in Palestinian towns and villages are widely reported and the feelings expressed are seemingly genuine.
Professor Khalil Shikaki, of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, conducted a survey in the Palestinian territories about three months ago in which he asked, “If separate elections for the president of the Palestinian Authority were held today, whom would you choose?”
Thirty-five percent said they would choose Arafat, while 15% said they would choose Hamas spiritual leader Ahmad Yasin. The Media Line spoke to the research center and was informed that “the extent of Arafat’s current popularity has still not been studied.” Yet judging by Palestinian responses over the past few days, it is clear that the upcoming survey will suggest a significant increase in support for the chairman.