Palestinian leaders attempt to visit Arafat

CLAMART, France – Palestinian leaders rushed to Paris on Monday to check on the critically ill Yasser Arafat, but hospital officials said visiting rights were restricted – setting the stage for a showdown between the delegation and Arafat’s wife.

Early Monday, Suha Arafat accused the leadership – including top lieutenants Ahmed Qureia and Mahmoud Abbas – of coming to the French capital with the sole intention of usurping her husband’s role as head of the Palestinian Authority.

“I tell you they are trying to bury Abu Ammar alive,” she shouted, using Arafat’s nom de guerre, in a furious telephone call with Al-Jazeera television from the 75-year-old Arafat’s bedside in a hospital southwest of Paris.

“He is all right, and he is going home,” she insisted.

Palestinian Cabinet minister Salah Taamri said, “We are Yasser Arafat’s family. We knew Yasser Arafat even before Mrs. Suha Arafat was born. We care for Yasser Arafat, and no one has the right to deny the truth from the Palestinian people.”

The Palestinian leadership abruptly called off the Paris trip, then reversed its decision. Qureia, the Palestinian prime minister, and Abbas, a former prime minister and the current PLO deputy chairman, landed in France late Monday on a private jet.

Suha Arafat, his wife of 13 years and mother of his daughter, seems to have aligned herself with hard-liners who apparently seek to take over the Palestinian leadership in a post-Arafat era, though some Palestinian officials said her motives are more financial. According to a senior official in Arafat’s office, she has received monthly payments of $100,000 from Palestinian coffers and is widely believed to have control of vast funds collected by the PLO.

This year, French prosecutors launched a money-laundering probe into transfers of $11.4 million into her accounts. She has refused to talk to reporters about Palestinian finances. Suha Arafat, 41, lives in Paris and has not been to the West Bank or seen her husband since the latest round of Palestinian violence began in 2000.

On their trip to Paris, Qureia and Abbas, who is considered a likely successor to Arafat, were accompanied by Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath and Parliament Speaker Rauhi Fattouh. They drove straight from the airport in a nine-car convoy to a hotel a few miles from the hospital.

“Tomorrow they will see the French officials and visit President Arafat in his hospital,” said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, one of Arafat’s senior aides. They were also to meet French President Jacques Chirac.

Arafat was in intensive care Monday and his condition had not changed, a hospital spokesman said.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Employees and patrons of the Everett Mall signed a timeline mural that traces the history of the 51-year-old indoor mall that was once considered the premier place to go shopping in the city. Thursday, March 20, 2025 (Aaron Kennedy / The Herald)
Mall mural offers nostalgic trip into the past

Past and present Everett Mall employees joined customers Thursday to view an artistic timeline of the once popular shopping mecca.

Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen gives his State of the City address on Thursday, March 20 in Edmonds, Washington. (Will Geschke / The Herald)
Edmonds mayor talks budget at 2025 State of the City

Mayor Mike Rosen discussed the city’s deficit and highlights from his first year in office.

Public’s help needed to find missing Arlington man

The 21-year-old left the house Sunday night without his shoes, cell phone or a jacket, and was reported missing the following morning.

The Marysville Tulalip Campus on the Tulalip Reservation, where Legacy High School is located. (Will Geschke / The Herald)
Marysville board votes to keep Legacy High at current location

The move rolls back a decision the school board made in January to move the alternative high school at the start of next school year.

The former Marysville City Hall building along State Avenue on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
City of Marysville, school board amend property exchange

The city will relocate its public works facility to the district’s current headquarters, which will move to the former City Hall.

Snohomish County Elections employees Alice Salcido, left and Joseph Rzeckowski, right, pull full bins of ballots from the Snohomish County Campus ballot drop box on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County to mail ballots for Edmonds, Brier elections

Registered voters should receive their ballots by April 9 for the April 22 special election.

A stormwater diversion structure which has been given a notice for repairs along a section of the Perrinville Creek north of Stamm Overlook Park that flows into Browns Bay in Edmonds, Washington on Thursday, July 18, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Edmonds Hearing Examiner decides on Perrinville Creek saga

The examiner revoked the city’s Determination of Non-Significance, forcing Edmonds to address infrastructure issues on the creek

Don Sharrett talks John Wrice through his trimming technique on Friday, March 14, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett barber school offers $5 haircuts — if you’re brave enough

Students get hands-on practice. Willing clients get a sweet deal.

Our Lady of Hope Fr. Joseph Altenhofen outside of his parish’s building that will be the new home of Hope ‘N Wellness on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Hope ‘N Wellness location to open Wednesday in Everett

Our Lady of Hope Church will host the social service organization at 2617 Cedar St. in Everett.

Amtrak Cascades train 517 to Portland departs from Everett Station on Saturday, Sep. 2, 2023, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Limited train service to resume on Amtrak Cascades

Trains will have less capacity for now, but service is expected to resume for some routes as early as Tuesday.

Marysville
Police: 66-year-old Marysville man dead from fatal stabbing

A neighbor found the man unconscious on the sidewalk as the result of an apparent stabbing. Police said they are looking for suspects.

Logo for news use featuring Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Driver, suspected of DUI, hits WSP vehicle on I-5 near Everett

The trooper was blocking the HOV lane for a previous collision when his vehicle was struck Saturday morning.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.