Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

French Jews flock to buy Israeli apartments

An Israeli apartment fair by leading contractors in Paris last week has posted an unprecedented success. The companies told 'Globes' that they had sold scores of apartments during the fair, and were negotiating the sale of scores more. Thousands of French Jews filled the fair's hall at the Maison Israel-France in downtown Paris, with buyers lining up outside companies' sales offices.

Ashdar said it had sold eight apartments, mostly in Ashdod, and was negotiating the sale of fourteen more. Contractor Yigal Damari said he had sold four apartments in Ashdod and Tel Aviv and was negotiating more deals. Bonei Hatichon Civil Engineering and Infrastructures (TASE:BOTI) also concluded deals, but declined to disclose details. Fair participants Azorim, Nitsba Holdings (TASE:NTBA) and Avrahami reported interest in apartments and agreements in principle on sales.

An Africa-Israel Investments (TASE:AFIL) sales manager told 'Globes' that although it had not signed any deals, 25 people said they would come to Israel to conclude negotiations. Mishab Housing Construction and Development also said many people would visit its sites in Modi'in and Givat Shmuel to pursue negotiation.

Discount Mortgage Bank (TASE:DMBK) has granted 30 mortgages in the past month to French Jews who bought apartments in the fair, Discount Mortgage Bank CEO Anat Keinan and deputy CEO Issacar Kaufman told 'Globes'. Keinan said demand from overseas investors was unprecedented.

Keinan added that scores more French Jews were negotiating to buy apartments following the fair, and that the bank would likely grant scores of mortgages to these buyers soon.

Israel using armed drones in Gaza

Israel has been deploying "killer" pilotless aircraft in its battle against Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip and used one Sunday to kill two militants, Palestinian officials said.

Hamas leader Nizar Rayyan claimed that unidentified UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) had fired missiles during the "Days of Repentance" military operation in the northern Gaza Strip against Kassam rocket squads.

Rayyan, who fought alongside Hamas gunmen in the Jabalya refugee camp during the IDF operation, boasted that Hamas had managed to develop new techniques to face the drones, including the use of blankets as cover.

"The technology of the carpets defeated the modern Israeli military technology," he said.

Eyewitnesses said the pilotless aircraft was used Sunday in a pre-dawn attack in Khan Yunis in which two Islamic Jihad gunmen were killed – Ziad Abu Mustafa and Omar Abu Mustafa, both in their late 20s.

"The missiles were fired from a drone that was hovering over the area," said Ismail Mujahed, who was walking home from a nearby mosque. "There was a huge explosion and a number of people were wounded. There were parts of bodies everywhere."

A senior Palestinian Authority security official in Khan Yunis said Palestinians were aware that Israel was using more sophisticated weapons to track down and kill fugitives.

"They have been using these drones for some time," he said. "The drones were used in the assassination of several Hamas activists and leaders."

The PA-owned Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda published a photograph of the Israeli UAV, dubbed Zanana in Arabic – a reference to the buzzing made by the approaching UAV.

Israel has readily admitted to using UAVs for years in its surveillance of Palestinians, including the Hunter and Searcher models. This is because UAVs are ideal for many of the missions required by the IAF, which involve extended flight, monotonous surveillance, and dangerous conditions. But it has never acknowledged that it has armed them.

"The Israelis almost certainly have armed UAV programs on the go right now," Robert Hewson, editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons, recently told Reuters.

"The UAVs offer an ideal 'closed loop': spotting the target and then hitting it from the same platform," Hewson said.

According to the Web site of Northrop Grumman, a US avionics firm, the company has rigged the Hunter to fire laser-guided Viper Strike missiles that are completely silent, gliding out of the sky using fins instead of propulsion.

Hewson said Israel has its own UAV-fired munitions, adapted from tank shells and rockets.

"We are positive Israel has developed specific low-collateral guided weapons for these platforms," he said.

The US has openly used the Predator drone armed with Hellfire rockets to strike at al-Qaida targets in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen.

Israeli companies tout security gear at conference in Washington

Chemical-detecting cameras and imaging gear that instantly can map out an area of nuclear contamination will be among the goods offered at an extraordinary trade conference in Washington this week.
Sixty top Israeli security-related companies will be displaying their latest technology for American companies and agencies responsible for patrolling U.S. borders and protecting against terrorist threats.
Some of the most exciting equipment is suitable for customs, border patrol, and detection, said Rob Hartwell of the American Business Development Group (ABDG), which helped organize the Oct. 28-29 conference for invited guests only.
"The Israelis excel at combining photo optics, sensing devices, cameras and also water-acoustical instruments, capable of detecting any intrusion and identifying whether it is human or animal," Mr. Hartwell said.
The conference also will help Israeli firms connect with like-minded American companies interested in satellite tracking, security systems, firearms, ammunition, maritime security, armor and bulletproof glass.
The United States and Israel already cooperate in the military arena, and several skilled Israelis have clearances to work in the U.S. military sector. This week's symposium is designed to expand that cooperation into the homeland-security arena.
Israel's government must approve the transfer of any sensitive technology, and several companies will not disclose their most advanced technologies. But many companies are ready to show off equipment that is more advanced or more competitive than anything made in the United States.
One company has developed hyper-spectral imaging based on satellite technology that can instantly map out an area contaminated by weapons of mass destruction and determine the best evacuation routes, Mr. Hartwell said.
Another offer is for a product already being used "in a major conflict" — a vehicle-borne camera that can see in the dark, sense heat or movement, and sniff out a number of chemical and biological compounds.
"A lot of different industries in Israel have transferred their knowledge to nonmilitary applications," said Ronin Zahavy, director of industry affairs for the Israeli Export and International Cooperation Institute.
More than 200 Israeli companies were evaluated over the last six months by conference organizers. Some offers were rejected, such as a company whose major concept was a lounge chair with a built-in lie detector.
ABDG, a consulting group, traveled to Israel with more than 20 experts, including former military members, program managers, potential clients and Capitol Hill defense staff, to vet the companies invited to the program.
There will be some 60 presentations in three sessions during the two-day conference, with the aim of finding business partners and establishing joint ventures to better approach the American market.
"We are arranging face-to-face business-opportunity meetings with U.S. companies and essentially trying to take the cream of the crop of Israeli technology and putting them in front of top U.S. companies," Mr. Hartwell said.

Palestinian Led Sinai Blasts, Egypt Says

This explanation seems a bit convenient for the Egyptian government, no? A disgruntled individual manages to put together three simultaneous bombs within a couple of weeks (classic Al-Qaeda methodology), and he accidentally dies? -EoZ

CAIRO, Oct. 25 - A disgruntled Palestinian who worked as a driver and was bent on killing as many Israeli tourists as possible organized the bombings of three resort areas along the eastern Sinai coast that left 34 people dead this month, the Egyptian government said Monday.

The Interior Ministry announced that of the nine men involved in the Oct. 7 attack, two of them, including the ringleader, died unintentionally in one attack, the huge explosion at the Taba Hilton. It said two bombers remained at large, and five suspects with lesser roles were arrested.

Aside from the ringleader, identified as Eyad Said Saleh, the other men were Egyptians from Bedouin tribes and all nine lived in Al-Arish, a town on the northern Sinai coast, said an investigator involved in the case. Most of the men were in their 30's, he said.

Mr. Saleh did not appear to be connected to any specific Palestinian faction, or to Al Qaeda, said the investigator. Egyptian investigators have favored the theory that the attacks were linked to the violence against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

The Interior Ministry said Mr. Saleh had sought revenge for an extended Israeli assault against the Gaza Strip that has killed and wounded scores of people.

Canada Refuses to Cut UNRWA Funding

The Canadian government has announced that it will continue to fund the work of UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) despite an admission earlier this month by the organization’s commissioner-general that members of the Hamas terrorist group were employed by his agency.

“Canada has no plans to discontinue its contributions”, Canadian foreign affairs spokesman Marie Christine Lilkoff told the Canadian Jewish News in its latest issue, in effect rebuffing calls by various Jewish groups to suspend financial aid to the UN-run organization.

UNRWA head Peter Hansen caused a stir in early October when he told a television reporter from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that, “I am sure there are Hamas members on the UNRWA payroll. And I don’t see that as a crime.”
Canada contributes about $10 million annually to UNRWA

The remarks placed the Canadian government in an uncomfortable position, as they had previously outlawed Hamas for its terrorist activities. Hence, by supporting UNRWA, Ottawa might indirectly be assisting Hamas as well.

In response to Hansen’s statement, B’nai Brith Canada called on the Canadian government “to withhold immediately any payments to UNRWA until there can be absolute assurances that contributions from Canadian citizens will never be used to support terrorist operatives.”

Canadian officials reportedly raised the issue with Hansen, and were apparently mollified by his assurances that he had been referring to his employees’ “political sympathies, not membership” in Hamas in his televised interview. Hansen also asserted that UNRWA “is not in the business of employing terrorists.” (Apparently, no one decided to look again at the interview. -EoZ)

As a result, the Canadians have now decided not to suspend or discontinue their funding of the organization.

Canada contributes about $10 million annually to UNRWA, which represents approximately 5% of the organization’s yearly budget.

The Hypocrisy of Hanan Ashrawi

PLO English spokesman Ashrawi: "Peace with justice is a real determining factor of our lives." PA TV sermon: "The Muslims will kill the Jews and rejoice"

While PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's chief English spokesperson, Hanan Ashrawi, speaks of peace and human rights, the Palestinian Authority television station broadcasts the opposite message to the Arab residents. Video footage released yesterday of Dr. Ashrawi addressing an overseas audience in English may be compared with two Arabic TV programs broadcast just last week on PA TV.

In honor of the International Day of Prayer for Peace, the World Council of Churches posted on its website today an eloquent video message from PA spokesperson Hanan Ashrawi, who declares, "Peace with justice is not an abstract value; it is a real determining factor of our lives. It is a most basic human right, and we appreciate everything you've done, in order not just to talk about peace with justice for Palestine and Israel, but also to act on that basis."

At the same time, a video address from the same Ramallah offices was broadcasting a very different message.Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) captured footage of two PA TV programs in three recent days showing official religious leaders openly calling for the genocide of Jews. In one of them, the televised sermon of Friday, September 10, Sheikh Ibrahim Madiras told the Arab neighbors of the Jews in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza:
"The Prophet said: the Resurrection will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims kill them. The Muslims will kill the Jews, rejoice [in it], rejoice in Allah's Victory. The Muslims will kill the Jews, and he [the Jew] will hide. The Prophet said: the Jews will hide behind the rock and tree, and the rock and tree will say: O servant of Allah, o Muslim this is a Jew behind me, come and kill him! Why is there this malice? Because there are none who love the Jews on the face of the earth: not man, not rock, and not tree everything hates them. They destroy everything. They destroy the trees and destroy the houses. Everything wants vengeance on the Jews, on these pigs on the face of the earth, and the day of our victory, Allah willing, will come."

Click here for a brief clip of the televised footage of the above sermon.

While Ashrawi speaks in English of "courage, conviction, integrity and a genuine commitment to peace with justice," Muslim religious leader Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim Maadi presents the killing of Jews not merely as the will of Allah, but also as a necessary stage in history that should be carried out now. On September 12, Maadi said on his weekly PA TV show:
"We are waging this cruel war with the brothers of the monkeys and pigs, the Jews and the sons of Zion. The Jews will fight you, and you will subjugate them. Until the Jew will stand behind the tree and rock. And the tree and rock will say: oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." Click here for a short video clip from Dr. Maadi's Sept. 12th show.

Numerous times in recent years, Arab religious leaders and academics in the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority have taught publicly that the Islamic teaching calling for the murder of Jews applies today. Even Ashrawi herself, according to PMW Director Itamar Marcus,
"did not condemn in Arabic the suicide bombing that killed tens in a Jerusalem pizza shop, or the hundreds of civilians murdered on buses, in recent years. Not even once... The first public statement against suicide terrorism in Arabic was made by Ashrawi only in an open petition she signed with other Palestinians in the Al-Quds newspaper on June 19, 2002... However, even a simple reading of the petition shows that she explicitly does not reject terror as a tool when it is politically effective, but only when it causes political damage. The petition does not include a single word of condemnation of suicide terrorism, and does not rule out terrorism at times when it is an effective tool. It deals entirely with the negative political results of suicide terrorism now for her cause."

Marcus concludes: "Ashrawi is not a moderate by any Western standard. She is a slick terrorist supporter who understands the importance of public relations, proper timing and spin for terrorism."

MDA sends equipment to Haiti

Medical equipment for treating victims of Hurricane Jeanne in Haiti has been shipped to the city of Gunayev by Magen David Adom in cooperation with the Health Ministry.

A few weeks ago, thousands of Haitians died or were declared missing in Gunayev, the country's third largest city, which was completely destroyed.

The social and economic situation in Haiti in the wake of the hurricane has been declared a disaster.

MDA board chairman Yohanan Gur said this donation is part of MDA's humanitarian activities around the world.

Jordanian protestors: 'Oh, Kassam, don't let any Jew sleep,'

About 700 Jordanians staged a short but noisy protest in the capital city Friday against US presence in Iraq and IDF operations in the Palestinian territories.

'Oh, Kassam, don't let any Jew sleep,' the protesters chanted, referring to the homemade Kassam rockets that Palestinians have fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

The demonstrators marched about 500 meters from the downtown al-Husseini Mosque to Amman's city hall, where they dispersed quietly. A few police officers watched the protest, but did not intervene.

The protesters, who comprised members of the fundamentalist Islamic Action Front and several left-wing political parties, carried banners with slogans such as 'No to the Zionist and American aggression on Iraq and Palestine.'

What exactly is the political benefit of a Gaza pullout again?

Study: Israel legally occupying Gaza, even after pullout
By The Associated Press

Even after Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip, it will still be considered under international law as the occupying power and be held responsible for the crowded territory, according to an internal government assessment made public Sunday.
Under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan, Israel is scheduled to withdraw next year from the entire Gaza Strip and four isolated settlements in the northern West Bank.

But because Israel intends to maintain control over the crossings into Gaza, its coastline and airspace, international law will still hold Israel responsible for the territories and its population, according to the study by legal experts from the Justice Ministry, Foreign Ministry and the military.

'We must be aware that the disengagement does not necessarily exempt Israel from responsibility in the evacuated territories,' said the 47-page report.

Israel could reduce its responsibility over the territory, where 8,200 Jewish settlers currently live among 1.3 million Palestinians, if someone else were to take control there, the report said.

'The more active control is given to other parties, the more difficult it will be to claim Israel is still responsible,' the study said.

The study, which has been submitted to the National Security Council, responsible for implementing the withdrawal, said that both the involvement of an international force in Gaza or the establishment of a Palestinian state would reduce the burden on Israel.

However, Cabinet Minister Tzipi Livni said Sunday that Israel was unlikely to endorse either option since it was reluctant to hand security control over to another party.

Despite the legal complications, Israel hopes the international community will recognize the withdrawal from Gaza as the end of occupation of the area, said Livni, a lawyer by profession. (Ah, so wishful thinking will make it so! - EoZ)

'I really would like to have the technical, legal, international declaration that Israel is no longer responsible there,' Livni told Army Radio. 'There is a tremendous difference between if Israel stays there ... and a situation in which Israel does everything to get out of there.'

Yahoo! News - Iran rejects European demands over nuclear standoff

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran rejected European demands that it halt all uranium enrichment activities and described a proposal aimed at ending Tehran's nuclear standoff with the international community as 'unbalanced.'

'The European proposal is their preliminary proposition and is not definitive but it is unbalanced,' foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said.

Iran is also refusing to suspend indefinitely work on enriching uranium, part of the nuclear fuel cycle, as called for in the deal offered to Tehran last week by the European Three of Britain, France and Germany, he added.

'In their proposal, the Europeans sought the suspension of enrichment until a comprehensive deal is reached. During the negotiations there is no question of an unlimited suspension,' he told reporters.

Nevertheless, Asefi said, the decision to engage in negotiations with the Europeans was the right one, adding: 'Today we are on the right path.'

The three European states presented Iran with a deal Thursday, aimed at avoiding possible UN sanctions. Under the deal Tehran would receive valuable nuclear technology if it indefinitely suspended all uranium enrichment activities.

The proposal was seen as a last chance for Iran before the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), decides on November 25 whether Iran is cooperating with the international community.

The United States wants the IAEA, which since February 2003 has been investigating US claims that Iran has a covert nuclear weapons programme, to refer Tehran to the UN Security Council, which could impose sanctions.

Tehran has long insisted it is seeking only to generate electricity and on its right to produce enriched uranium, which makes fuel for civilian reactors but which can also manufacture the explosive material for atomic bombs.

Solana: Gaza pullout only the first step

Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip should be the first step in a wider pullout from Palestinian territories, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in an interview with a German magazine to be published on Monday.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon “wants to begin (to follow the international peace plan known as the roadmap) with a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip,” Solana told Der Spiegel. “But he must also commit to making the withdrawal the first step in a process that leads to the pullout from all the occupied areas.” “If he thinks that withdrawal from Gaza alone is enough and that peace will automatically return, we will not back that idea. It would not be a dream but a nightmare.” Solana said the European Union would contribute to the implementation of the roadmap put forward by the EU, Russia, the United Nations and the United States by training Palestinian security forces. “From the beginning of November, there could be certain steps as part of the roadmap that could accelerate the process,” he said, in comment printed in German. “We plan, probably along with Egypt, to ensure that the Palestinian security authorities can carry out their duties.

“We will send people who are well-prepared so the Palestinians can have a reasonable command structure and also the means to carry out their tasks. “We want to commit all of our energy to creating security, otherwise there can be no Palestinian state. Of course, president Yasser Arafat must do his part and give his prime minister the necessary powers.” (afp)

Nasrallah: Hizballah Seeking Stronger Weapons

מנהיג החיזבאללה, שייח' חסן נסראללה, ממשיך לשגר איומים לכיוונה של ישראל. הפעם מאיים נסראללה בהשגת נשק מתוחכם ורב עוצמה.

העיתון הלבנוני "אל-מוסתקבל" מדווח כי בארוחה לרגל סיום הצום, שנערכה בעיירה אל-ע'בריירי בלבנון, אמר מנהיג החיזבאללה: "במצב הנוכחי, ההתנגדות (שם קוד לארגון חיזבאללה - א"ע) צריכה להיות חזקה מבעבר, ואם יש אפשרות להשיג נשק חזק יותר, יש להשיג אותו מכיוון שהאינטרס הלאומי מחייב את זה".

נסראללה ביקש להרגיע את שאר העדות בלבנון מפני הנשק רב העוצמה. "לבנון לא צריכה לפחד מנשק ההתנגדות בגלל שהוא מופנה נגד האויב, לשם הגנה על לבנון, על ריבונותה ועל עצמאותה", הוסיף נסראללה.

According to the Lebanese newspaper Al-Mustakbal, Hizballah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said recently:
"In the current situation, the resistance (code name for Hizballah) must be stronger than in the past, and if there is a possibility to acquire stronger weapons, we should acquire them because the national interest requires it."

Gaza terror groups thought to have anti-aircraft missiles

Palestinian terror organizations in the Gaza Strip may have anti-aircraft missiles in their possession, possibly Russian Strela (SA-7) missiles, the security establishment warned Sunday.
For some years the Palestinians have tried to smuggle anti-aircraft missiles from Egypt through tunnels. However, until now no reliable intelligence confirmed the existence of the missiles.

A senior military official told Haaretz Sunday that the security establishment working premise is now that such missiles do exist in Gaza and the air force is responding accordingly.

Combat helicopters are flying with minimum exposure to danger, as was the practice in southern Lebanon. Helicopters carrying senior officers have stopped landing inside Gaza, but rather on landing pads outside the Strip.

The downing of an Israeli plane or helicopter is an important objective for the Palestinians, symbolically. The fighting of the past weeks has only increased that importance.

The air force increased the presence of helicopters during Operation Days of Penitence and was responsible for hitting half of the military cells targeted.

Both sides are aware that if the disengagement plan is implemented, and IDF land forces pull out, airborne forces will play a much larger role than before. 'The Palestinians are clearly interested in challenging our total superiority in the air,' the senior official said.

Palestinian organizations have a role model in the guerrilla groups fighting the U.S. presence in Iraq. In the past 18 months dozens of U.S. helicopters with hundreds of crew members have been downed, some by anti-aircraft missiles, some by heavy mortar.

Hezbollah, however, never accomplished this goal during Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon.

In an interview to a Saudi newspaper last month, Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas official in Gaza said his organization was seeking help from Arab states to acquire weapons capable of downing Israeli aircraft, as an answer to the recent wave of assassinations.

Saudis Screw 500,000 Palestinians, no one cares

A Million Expatriates to Benefit From New Citizenship Law
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News

JEDDAH, 21 October 2004 — Expatriates of all nationalities are entitled to apply for Saudi citizenship and their travels abroad with re-entry visas will not disqualify them, press reports said yesterday quoting senior officials.

Nasser ibn Hamad Al-Hanaya, undersecretary for civil status at the Interior Ministry, said the executive bylaw for the Kingdom’s amended naturalization law would be ready within four months. “We will look into applications only after the executive bylaw is issued,” Okaz Arabic daily quoted Hanaya as saying.

He estimated that more than a million expatriates would benefit by the amended law, which was passed by the Council of Ministers on Monday. There are nearly 8.8 million expatriates, mostly Asians and Arabs, in the Kingdom.

...
Shubaily ibn Majdoue Al-Qarni, chairman of the security committee which supervised amendments to the law, said Saudi citizenship would be open for all nationals working in the Kingdom. “The law does not aim at a particular nationality. On the other hand, it covers all expatriates in the country,” he told Al-Madinah.

But Al-Watan Arabic daily reported that the naturalization law would not be applicable to Palestinians living in the Kingdom as the Arab League has instructed that Palestinians living in Arab countries should not be given citizenship to avoid dissolution of their identity and protect their right to return to their homeland.

Diplomatic sources have estimated the number of Palestinians in the Kingdom at about 500,000. There are large concentrations of Palestinians in the country’s western, central, eastern and northern provinces.

Arafat ill: Debka analysis

23 October: While both Palestinian and Israeli official sources are playing down Yasser Arafat’s state of health – dismissing its deterioration as a bout of flu – DEBKAfile’s political and Palestinian sources disclose that his medical advisers want him to undergo surgery to remove gall bladder stones without delay. This would mean flying him to a hospital outside the West Bank after three years of being confined to Ramallah

The nearest hospital is in Amman. So far, Israel has not been asked to grant him traveling permission. Prime minister Sharon would not object to him leaving, but is already under American and European diplomatic pressure to make sure he is allowed his return. A delegation of Tunisian physicians arrived in Ramallah Saturday night, October 23. According to our sources this visit has little to do with Arafat’s ailments. Tunisia holds presidential elections Sunday, October 24. The incumbent Zein bin Ali is certain that a show of concern for the Palestinian leader will enhance his electoral prospects. He asked Sharon to allow Tunisian physicians to attend the ailing Palestinian leader and the Israeli prime minister assented.

Earlier this week, on Monday, October 18, a medical team from Egypt and Palestinian doctors from Jerusalem and Nablus gave the 75-year old Palestinian leader a thorough check-up after he complained of severe pains. They decided provisionally that he was suffering from stones on the gall bladder that needed to be surgically removed and an acute intestinal infection, which is the more serious ailment because of its recurrence within a short period despite medication. For a definitive diagnosis, they want him X-rayed under hospital conditions which are lacking in Ramallah.

Even in extreme pain, Arafat keeps his eye on the main chance. He and his close aides have grasped that ill health offers him an opportunity to break out of the siege Israel clamped down on his Ramallah quarters after the failed Karin-A weapons smuggling episode in January 200.

The deterioration in Arafat’s health has caught Sharon unawares. He is currently in full tilt of an assault on government and parliament to hammer home his disengagement plan against massive resistance. The distraction of Arafat’s sudden departure from Ramallah threatens to slow down his plans in the short term. A long term threat cannot be ruled out. Established in an Arab or European country, the Palestinian leader would pose a different sort of peril, one that could undermine Sharon’s disengagement scheme. If and when Arafat recovers, he may decide not to return to Ramallah. He may find he has more freedom of action and broader international support for running the Palestinian political and terror war against Israel from a base in an Arab or European capital, like Paris. Arafat cut loose from his isolation in Ramallah could change the rules and force Israel to review its options afresh. US President George W. Bush could be confronted with uncomfortable dilemmas days before the November 2 election.

For the moment, Arafat has been so weakened by pain and high fever that he has given up the Ramadan fast and cancelled appointments. The official play-down of his condition continues until the various parties concerned fully digest its possible impact.