Abdullah: Arafat should quit

[drdon326]

Jordan's King Abdullah II has joined the chorus of Palestinian and Arab officials who are calling on Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to step down.

Arafat ought to take "a long look in the mirror" and decide whether to step aside in the interest of his people, Abdullah said in an interview with The New York Times published on Tuesday.

Pressed in the interview about whether he agreed with US Secretary of State Colin Powell's criticism of Arafat as an "obstacle to peace," Abdullah was quoted as saying, "I think Arafat needs to have a long look in the mirror to be able to see whether his position is helping the Palestinian cause or not."

A senior PA official reacted angrily to the monarch's remarks.

snip

Palestinian legislator and former minister Hanan Ashrawi has also lashed out at the PA leadership, accusing it of failing its people.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1084857503289
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When Hanan " What PA anti-semitism?" Ashwari says youre in trouble,
you must be in trouble. lol

[el_gato]

1. seems like the Murdering IDF is a bigger "obstacle to peace" than Arafat

I guess they've been too busy bulldozing homes to notice

[geek tragedy]

2. He and Ariel Sharon

should move in together for Season II of the Surreal Life. Get them both removed from the process.

[Gimel]

3. Abdullah stands

Retracts a little, but the support for Arafat's removal is growing.

[cantwealljustgetalong]

4. Palestinian leadership makes many steps but hardly moves...

...

Last week, Arafat chaired a meeting with his top aides, including the National Security Council. During that meeting, Abu Alaa and Dr. Saeb Erekat, the minister in charge of negotiations with Israel, urged Arafat to introduce reforms and to furnish Abu Alaa with the authority he needs.

Brigadier General Jibril Rajoub, who was commander of the preventive security in the West Bank and is currently Arafat's advisor on security, asked the president to consolidate all the security forces under one person, as proposed by the roadmap. Arafat was furious.

He screamed at Rajoub and ordered him out of the room. Rajoub left the building through a side door avoiding the press. He refused to comment on what happened. A day later, shots were fired at his office. Some argued that those bullets could be the signal from Arafat's supporters to remind Rajoub who is the boss.

...

Abu Alaa, however, tried to send signals of optimism. He said it was not too late for the declaration of a Palestinian state and that such a state could indeed be proclaimed before the end of next year.

To make this happen, Abu Alaa has to take a few steps and so does President Arafat. They both owe their people an explanation why no effort is made and why no progress is achieved. They both owe over 150,000 Israelis who demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday night an answer too.

...

http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/Region2.asp?ArticleID=121217