NEWS: Arafat In France, May Have Leukemia

New news release as of 10/28
news.haaretz.co.il...

Debka is reporting the following ...

DEBKAfile�s special sources report: Arafat is closeted in private quarters with Ramallah hospital director Dr. Hananya and 2-3 Tunisian physicians. His personal guard headed by Khaled al Asmar bars access to his quarters and to any information.

It is said only that 75-year old Palestinian leader�s condition is serious enough for Dr. Hananya to demand his removal to Ramallah hospital intensive care unit. So far he has resisted.

Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah say it�s all over. Their colleagues are gathering from all over, arguing over rumor that Arafat authorized Qureia, Abbas and Zaanoun to officiate as PA heads during his indisposition.

Arafat�s wife Suha due from Paris Thursday. Palestinian security forces on high state of preparedness as crowds collect around HQ compound. Israeli TV channels on all-night alert in case Arafat does not last the night.

www.debka.com...

Looks like it could be the real thing.

Flying in his wife, colleagues gathering from all over and crowds gathering for a death watch.

The notions that swirl in this spread about Arafat being a horrible man are bunk. They began to find a place when the ultra ultra right (not to mention international war criminal) took over in Israel and Bush followed.

Arafat has negotiated with Israel and the US and made a deal that put his position and control of Palestinian politics completely at risk. As a result, the radicals splintered right and left and all that remained in his centre was a very weakened group. Which is why he can be isolated and marginalized like he has been. His real crime is this: having made a deal that the vast majority of Palestinians termed treason, he could give no more when asked for a total sell-out.

He has been an important figure in organizing Palestinians historically and his historical involvement in para-military operations puts him (at the very worst) in the same league as many Israeli leaders.

I wonder FredT, you may well be right about the convenience of his further collapse.

Just be sure someone asks him where he hid all his money before he kicks off. Then it could be given to the Palestinians it was intended for in the first place.

www.forbes.com...

Here is a profile of Yasser Arafat by Uri Avnery, an Isreali Journalist and writter who has met him personally many times.

The prisoner of Ramallah: A Profile Of Yasser Arafat

It was written just prior to his 74th birthday.

Puts Arafat in a different light don't it?

How many of us here know enough about the details of Israeli-Palestinian history to make a clear judgment of his legacy?

Other than choosing a side and point of view based on our prejudices?

Arafat has implied that when he dies he wants to be buried in Jerusalem. The Israelis have almost flatly refused the idea.
www.macombdaily.com...
What happend if he were to die, and they tried to bury him at the Temple Mount?

I'm betting it will wind up being worse then when Sharon visited the Western Wall, which is a part of the Temple Mount.

Gools, a quote from your link:

But not the slightest hint of suspicion ever attached itself to Yasser Arafat himself. While Ariel Sharon is sinking in a morass of corruption affairs and world leaders like Helmut Kohl in Germany and Jacques Chirac in France have starred in major scandals, Arafat has remained above suspicion. Neither his opponents at home nor the Israeli intelligence agencies have succeeded in discovering any spots. He lives a very simple life, has no home of his own, his clothes are his khaki uniforms.

If this is true, how is he worth $300 million? Or is Forbes wrong? Can they both be right? I don't understand.

Originally posted by phreak_of_nature
I'm betting it will wind up being worse then when Sharon visited the Western Wall, which is a part of the Temple Mount.

Wow, you learn something new every day. Yeah, I could see him wanting to be buried there. Man that would cause a huge stir eh? Your right, it will be worse. Good find Phreak

Originally posted by Montana
If this is true, how is he worth $300 million? Or is Forbes wrong? Can they both be right? I don't understand.

I'm not sure what to make of that. I wonder where Forbes gets its numbers.

Arafat was not exactly living the high life and he always seems to be wearing the same thing.

Originally posted by phreak_of_nature
I'm betting it will wind up being worse then when Sharon visited the Western Wall, which is a part of the Temple Mount.

Umm.. This latest intifada was set off when Sharon visited the actual Temple Mount not just the Western Wall. Hundreds if not thousands of jews visit the wall every day. The Temple Mount is reserved for the Muslims.

Burrying him there makes sense from their point of view but the Israelis likely don't want it to become a shrine to him and would probably consider it a desecration of the site of Solomon's Temple.

This could get ugly real fast.

I did a quick google, and that was actually the lowest figure I found. Most of the more sensational sites claimed a figure of 1.3 billion or more. I went with Forbes because I felt it was more credible. The general concensus is that it was skimmed from the aid given to Palestinians.

Fred and Phreak- If you accept his claim, he was born in Jerusalem, so asking to be buried there would make some kind of sense, I suppose. Of course his birth certificate says Cairo......

Originally posted by Montana
Fred and Phreak- If you accept his claim, he was born in Jerusalem, so asking to be buried there would make some kind of sense, I suppose. Of course his birth certificate says Cairo......

I don't think his claim has anything to do with the facts, and everything to do with his desire to remain an icon to the Palestinian people. The goal he set out for the PLO was to retake all of the land for a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as it's capital. If he can't be there to see its creation, then I am sure he will want to be there for when it does happen. His grave could become a shrine to the shahid that started it all.

There's another angle. I can almost guarentee you that the term Marytar will be applied to him once he passes. Even though I wouldn't really consider an old man who dies in his bed of cancer a marytar. I'm sure you could rationalize it, but I wouldn't.

This could go bad, very bad. I just hope that the Palestinians recognize the authority of those Arafat appointed, and that they can keep things in control.

Originally posted by phreak_of_nature
This could go bad, very bad. I just hope that the Palestinians recognize the authority of those Arafat appointed, and that they can keep things in control.

Yep, I hope so too. There are something like 12 different 'security forces' in the West Bank and Gaza. Every one of them has a leader who probably thinks HE is Arafat's rightful successor. This could get way worse than ugly. I feel sorry for the poor Palestinians these guys are 'protecting'.

Originally posted by LL1
OBL stated that when the time comes when Arafat dies, was one
of the signs that they will again attack the U.S.
Palestine

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, but never heard about this. But not a connection so much to say with OBL but with whatever groups the word had been communicated to that in the deat of YA and if whatever objectives had not been secured then operation whatever would be enacted.

There are some oddities about how many events are falling in place so close together...YA collapse, Russia's involvement in stashing weaponry in Syria from Iraq before the invasion, the U.S. vote and the pre-release of an hour long video tape telling us the streets will run with blood...

we'll see what plays out in the next 6 days. if anything big is supposed to happen, is surely will happen then.

it was long rumoured that Arafat was suffering from a terminal illness. I don't have any confirmed info and do not wish to exstrapulaite (sp?) on it.

I intially dreaded the prospect knowing the internal strife this was goin' to reap... but Arafat is a major source of the exsisting problems there. I have a better perspective now that moderate palenstians are going to pick up thier voices .

Originally posted by Montana
Just be sure someone asks him where he hid all his money before he kicks off. Then it could be given to the Palestinians it was intended for in the first place.

Even if his fortune did not originate from his successful engineering business in the past, I doubt the accumulation is reason enough to condemn. If it had to be measured by the size of the fortune, some of your very favourite people would be at the top of the list, keeping in mind source and manipulation government policy.

If this is true, how is he worth $300 million? Or is Forbes wrong? Can they both be right? I don't understand.

Hardly on point of importance. Nevertheless, he has had significant business interests and the backing of many extremely influential and rich folks. He sure doesn't seem to be living Gates or Bush style.

A bomb has gone off outside a thailand bar... more details soon

Can't wait till this guy kicks the bucket. As a kid of the 80's, to me his name was synonymous with terrorism... How he EVER came to be regarded as a politician is beyond me... The only good terrorist is a dead one, and I for one will be happy when his chips are called.... Good riddance to bad rubbish...

if he dies one of two things will happen

He'll be replaced by a moderate

or

He'll be replaced by a radical

should be interesting