Israel has presented the European Union with a list of “eight possible successors” to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, informed political sources in London told the Qatari daily Al Watan on Tuesday.
They said that the “eight candidates” had been approved by the United States, adding that Israel considered them to be more flexible than Arafat in their approach to the peace process.
The sources told the paper that Israel suggested another option to the EU: “the eight form a full alternative leadership to control the Palestinian territories.”
The report did not name any of the candidates.
“If a new leadership is set up, Israel told the EU, then it would dismiss the option of re-occupying PA areas,” the sources told the paper.
Al Watan’s report came only two days after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned Israeli to stop threatening to get rid of Arafat, saying it would be unproductive and "very dangerous."
"It's very dangerous. They must stop saying things like 'we'll kill Arafat, we'll kill so and so.'" He said.
According to a report by the Spanish newspaper El Pais on Sunday, the repeated threats of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon have forced Arafat to return to the long-abandoned habits of a clandestine lifestyle.
The president has reinforced his personal security force, directed by a general "without a face and without a voice," Faisal Abu Shara, said the article.
Moreover, Arafat no longer travels by car, restricts his public appearances, and tries to stay put in his Gaza Strip residence, which El Pais describes as "much more under watch...than his refuge in Ramallah."
Since taking office, Sharon has characterized the Palestinian head of state as an "assassin," a "pathological liar" and "terrorist." - Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
