RAMALLAH, West Bank – Senior Palestinian officials, seeking to fill the void left when Yasser Arafat dies, reached out Saturday to Islamic fundamentalists who remain the wild card in a post-Arafat era.
Tacitly acknowledging that planning for life after Arafat has begun, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia made a rare visit to the Gaza Strip, where he convened senior security officers and leaders of rival militant factions, including the radical Hamas organization.
As one of the deadliest organizations in the Palestinian constellation, Hamas’ decisions and positions are key to whether the transition after Arafat is peaceful or bloody.
In Ramallah, the political capital of the Palestinian Authority, another round of consultations took place Saturday among officials from the Palestinians’ most influential governing body, the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
All of the activity was aimed at presenting a united front, and at keeping a lid on violence, something officials have been keen to do ever since Arafat fell ill and was evacuated from his battered headquarters in Ramallah.
“We are talking about national unity, in all its forms, including participation in decision-making,” Qureia, known as Abu Alaa, said after Saturday’s meeting with 13 factions in Gaza City. Although he and others indicated Hamas would be welcomed into a future government, he offered no specifics on how that would be achieved.
There was no fresh news Saturday on Arafat’s condition. The 75-year-old leader continued to be in critical condition in a French military hospital on the outskirts of Paris.
Gen. Christian Estripeau, the hospital spokesman authorized by Palestinians to speak on the matter, simply said that Arafat’s health had not worsened.
In Gaza, Qureia swept into town under heavy Palestinian guard. He was accompanied by Parliament Speaker Rauhi Fattouh, who would step in as a caretaker president of the Palestinian Authority if Arafat dies. The two men listened to demands from Hamas and other groups for a role in the future leadership of the Palestinian entity.
Gaza, a teeming, impoverished strip of land squeezed against the sea, is vital to post-Arafat planning because it has grown chaotic in advance of a possible Israeli pullout of Jewish settlements. Rival gunmen, including police, have been jockeying for position and power and fighting in the streets, a struggle that could worsen if Arafat dies.
Hamas initially might lie low to further an image of Palestinian unity and to secure a seat at the leadership table, analysts said. But the group, responsible for many of the suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of Israelis in recent years, has not agreed to a cease-fire in the event of Arafat’s death.
“We are passing through a critical time,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said. He said that Qureia agreed to “study the mechanism” for bringing Hamas into the government.
Associated Press
Children walk past a portrait of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
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