CAIRO — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is said to be furious at
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.
The Egyptian anger comes as resentment appears to be rising against
Arafat at home. PA sources said Arafat is facing threats to his rule by
successors being groomed by the United States, Egypt and Syria.
The sources said the most likely candidate is PLO Executive Committee
secretary Mahmoud Abbas.
Egyptian officials said Mubarak was upset by demonstrations in the PA
areas which ended up targeting Egypt. In one demonstration, an Egyptian flag
was torched in front of television cameras.
The officials said Mubarak has not spoken to Arafat since the Sharm
e-Sheik summit nine days ago. They said Mubarak was angered by Arafat's
behavior at the summit, organized by President Bill Clinton, and his refusal
to stop violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Egyptian government newspapers have accused Arafat of being ungrateful
for the decades of Egyptian support. They said Mubarak was the only one to have
supported Arafat through his crises with the Arab and international
community.
Arafat has tried to assuage Mubarak. On Thursday, the Cairo-based Al
Ahram daily published an interview with PA secretary-general Tayeb Abdul
Rahim, who praised Mubarak's role in negotiations with Israel.
