Despite allowing Yasser Arafat to leave his Ramallah compound for the first time since 2002 to travel to a Paris hospital today, Israel does not have concrete confirmation that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is sick, security sources told WorldNetDaily.
As Palestinian officials prepared for the move, aides described Arafat as “too weak to stand” and said he “appeared confused and spent most of the day sleeping.”
Last night, they said, Arafat vomited after eating soup then collapsed and was unconscious for about 10 minutes.
Doctors brought in this week by the Palestinian Authority claim Arafat is suffering from the flu and a large gallstone. Some Israeli officials have speculated Arafat may be suffering from cancer in the digestive tract. The Palestinians said tests found no sign of cancer.
But Israel has been presented with no evidence — aside from a formal PA request for the transfer of Arafat — that the Palestinian leader actually is ill, said security sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
With Arafat increasingly isolated in the international community, he has much to gain by finally being allowed to leave his compound and travel freely to gather support in European and Arab capitals.
And with the upcoming American elections, the stakes for Arafat are higher then ever. Bush and Sharon effectively have persuaded foreign leaders to disregard Arafat because of his direct involvement in terrorism and failure to make peace for his people. Many agree a second Bush term would be the final nail in Arafat’s political coffin.
Observers point out that over the years, Arafat has been willing to stoop low to get himself out of difficult situations, once even famously dressing in drag to escape Israeli troops in Beirut.
“Yes, Arafat is a notorious liar,” senior Sharon spokesman Raanan Gissin told WND. “We are dealing not with Arafat but with the Palestinian Authority, responding to an official request asking that Israel facilitate and expedite the provision to let Arafat travel for medical treatment. It wasn’t easy for them to come and ask, but we’re just extending the same consideration you would to fallen soldiers and captured wounded terrorists in the battlefield.”
Senior Arafat aide Nabin Abu Radiniah was offended by the suggestion Arafat was faking illness.
“Absolutely not! The president is ill, and he is in need of medical treatment,” Radiniah told WND from Arafat’s battered compound. “Any suggestion otherwise is just more Israeli lies and propaganda.”
Israel has prepared contingency plans if Arafat is indeed sick and dies, including how to deal with possible riots and prevent Palestinian attempts to bury him in Jerusalem.
Israel has marked a possible burial site for Arafat in the Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis, in the West Bank, security officials said. Israel reportedly has taken the location of the plot into consideration in planning the route of its security fence.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said a Palestinian Authority without Arafat could become a partner for peace.
”We always said we would be willing to talk to a Palestinian leadership that would be willing once and for all to bring an end to the bloodshed,” Shalom told Israel Radio.
Wherever he is, if Arafat is awake, alert and oriented, he likely will pay close attention to the U.S. elections. Arafat has endorsed Kerry, as WND reported, and he may feel the presidential candidate could help bring him back to relevance.
Many Israeli and American Jewish leaders have been expressing concern that a Kerry administration will cause more violence in the Middle East and could bring Arafat back to power.
They say they are worried about Kerry’s statements about coordinating American foreign policy with the Europeans, some of whom favor talks with Arafat and are disturbed by Kerry’s appointment of several former Clinton Mideast policy directors as advisers, particularly former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk.
Indyk, who helped devise the 1993 Oslo Accords, was a driving force behind Clinton’s assessment of Arafat as a statesman and urged Clinton to accept Arafat as the legitimate ruler of the Palestinians. Under Indyk’s advisory, Arafat visited the White House during the Clinton administration 24 times, more than any other world leader during those eight years.
“If Kerry wins, and Arafat gets out of his compound and travels abroad, as he is about to, Arafat would be in a perfect position to bring himself back to power,” a security official told WorldNetDaily.
Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, said, “Arafat has proven himself over the years willing to stoop to any depth to pursue his murderous career and I would not put it past him to fake illness or even death. That said, this episode may well be a real health emergency.”
Gissin stressed, “I don’t know what [illness] Arafat has. Our only involvement was to extend our consideration to the perceived humanitarian problem. This is only for medical treatment, and has nothing to do with our overall consideration of Arafat and the terrorism he directs.”
