OUR MAN IN RAMALLAH

The men who are selling Palestine (Ali Abunimah, 4/23/03, The Daily Star)

David Hirst, the veteran correspondent for The Guardian newspaper, reported in 1996 on fears in Yasser Arafat's entourage that the Israelis would turn the Palestinian security forces against the Palestinian leader. According to Hirst, a Palestinian official said that the Israelis had so "penetrated" the security forces "that some of its leaders now depend on them at least as much as they do on Arafat. The time is coming when the Israelis decide that Arafat--who argues too much--has served his purpose."

The official told Hirst that "the Israelis are grooming Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas), one of the secret negotiators of the Oslo Accords, to take Arafat's place, and that they will count on Mohammed Dahlan, head of Preventative Security in Gaza, to lead the putsch."

Seven years ago such fears could be dismissed as paranoia. And yet, as I write this, Arafat clings desperately to the rubble of his headquarters, the Israelis having declared him "irrelevant," while the US- and Israeli-chosen "Prime Minister" Abbas is locked in a dispute with Arafat over the formation of a Cabinet. The key sticking point is Abbas' insistence that Dahlan be placed in charge of security. Even the most level-headed observer is tempted to see in this a conspiracy.

It's not important whether the conspiracy has any reality behind it; what metters is that Mr. Abbas/Mazen is sufficiently oriented towards settling this mess that it is possible to imagine he's serving Israel's interests. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 1, 2003 8:59 PM