AMMAN Ñ Arab leaders have told Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat
that neither the United States nor Israel will agree to deal with him again.
[On Monday, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Secretary of
State Colin Powell has ended communications with Arafat. "He has no plans to
talk to chairman Arafat," Boucher said. "I think we made that quite clear."]
Arab diplomatic sources said Arafat's allies in Egypt,
Jordan and Saudi Arabia have, in recent weeks, come to terms with the prospect that Arafat
will probably be replaced. They said Arafat has rejected several offers to
go into exile, Middle East Newsline reported.
Israeli sources said the decline in Arab support for Arafat has been
dramatic over the last two weeks in the wake of President George Bush's
call for a new democratic Palestinian leadership. They said Arafat's former
allies are now searching to support a replacement for the Palestinian leader
who will be most understanding of their interests.
"The idea is to make it clear to the Palestinians that Arafat is the
sole obstacle to the goal of achieving a Palestinian state," an Arab
diplomatic source said. "This has placed unprecedented pressure on Arafat."
The sources said both Washington and Jerusalem would resume efforts to discuss a
Palestinian state once Arafat steps down.
Arafat, increasingly
isolated from his people and under pressure from his former Arab allies, is
expected to step down by the end of the year.
Arab and Israeli diplomatic sources said Arafat has been dismayed that his authority and freedom of movement have been whittled down
to
the point where he could be removed in a bloodless coup. The sources said
Arafat is
considering a proposal by such Arab countries as Egypt and Saudi
Arabia to accept a ceremonial post, such as president, in any new
Palestinian government.
Under the proposal, Arafat would be able to remain in the Palestinian
areas but lose his administrative authority. On Monday, the Jordanian
opposition Al Majd weekly quoted senior Palestinian sources as saying that
Palestinian Legislative Council speaker Ahmed Qurei is Arafat's most likely
successor.
The sources said Arafat has been firing and rehiring his security chiefs
in a series of moves that have demoralized his remaining supporters. They
said his decisions have been erratic and are being ignored by such security
veterans as Preventive Security Apparatus chief Jibril Rajoub and
intelligence chief Tawfik Tirawi.
The Bush administration has dismissed Arafat's appointments, including
his 100-day reform plan. "While it offers promising elements of change, the
plan is only likely to strengthen the unacceptable status quo," Robert
Satloff, policy planning and strategic director of the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy said.
