from the AP: JERUSALEM--The highest-ranking Roman Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land said Wednesday that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat should step down if he is unable to make peace with Israel, and urged worshippers blocked from traveling on Christmas Eve to pray at Israeli army checkpoints.Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah said he believes the principal responsibility for peace rests with Israel. But he took a pointed swipe at the Palestinian Authority for failing to end 26 months of bloodshed that has claimed nearly 2,700 lives, mostly Palestinians.
''If the present leaders do not succeed in making peace, there is only one solution: open the way to other leaders,'' Sabbah said in an annual Christmas message. ''If Arafat is unable to make peace, of course, let him also give a place to another.''
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Although polls show Arafat, 73, remains the single most popular Palestinian leader, his waning mystique has taken a blow in recent weeks as senior Palestinians have questioned the uprising and the Palestinian leadership.
The most high-profile criticism has come from Arafat deputy Mahmoud Abbas, widely known as Abu Mazen, who in recent public statements has called the armed confrontation with Israel a mistake.
Sabbah also criticized Israel's decision to prevent Arafat from attending Midnight Mass in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve and said if Israel does not ease travel bans in the West Bank, worshippers should pray at army checkpoints.
In a poll released Wednesday, most Palestinians surveyed said they believe suicide bombings against Israel were justified, and only a minority supported ending the violent uprising.
Some 63 percent said suicide bombings should continue, and just 17 percent opposed the uprising.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-meast19.html
"I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work - for example, a lawnmower."—Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of the AK-47, 7.27.2002.
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WWND? (What Would Nixon Do?)
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