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From: MER FlashBack <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Arafat Sick - Push for ''Final Settlement'' Urgently Proceeds -
MER FlashBack
Date: Thursday, December 24, 1998 9:39 AM
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M I D - E A S T R E A L I T I E S
News, Information, & Analysis That Governments, Interest Groups,
and the Corporate Media Don't Want You To Know from Independent
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Oringinally published 11/11/97:
A R A F A T S I C K :
.
THE RACE FOR "FINAL SETTLEMENT" WHILE ARAFAT CAN BE USED
MER - Washington - 11 November, 1997:
Whatever they admit to in public, there is actually a great eagerness
and sense of urgency among many Israelis and Americans to "conclude" a
"final settlement" with the Palestinians poste haste.
They know the Arab world is not likely to ever be so disunited and
impotent again as it is today. They know that for the foreseeable
future the Palestinians are not likely to ever be in a weaker position
or so badly led than they are today. They know that the United Nations
has been humbled and controlled by Washington; and that this situation
will not continue indefinitely.
They know that the Gulf Arab "client-regimes" are shaking and may not
last very far into the next millennium. And they also know that unless
some kind of "peace" is achieved in the Middle East region -- however
illusory it might be -- an arms race involving missiles and weapons of
mass destruction will escalate far beyond its current dimensions.
Most importantly they know that Yasser Arafat represents their best
hope of getting the Palestinians to live as Indians on Reservations,
as Blacks on Bantustans, even while proclaiming that they have
achieved some kind of statehood -- however illusory.
Hence, concerns over Arafat's health are quite substantial, no matter
what is said in public. This important article is from the LONDON
SUNDAY TIMES last Sunday:
ARAFAT: FEARS OF PARKINSON'S
ARAFAT HEALTH SCARE PUTS PEACE
PROCESS IN JEOPARDY
by Andy Goldberg & Uzi Mahnaimi
YASSER ARAFAT, the Palestinian leader, is suffering from Parkinson's
disease, according to a report compiled by Israeli military
intelligence. He is receiving treatment for symptoms of tremor and
muscular rigidity but shows no sign of becoming incapacitated, it
claims.
Palestinian officials have previously dismissed suggestions that
Arafat's health is declining, saying they are the result of a
disinformation campaign by Israel to destabilise the Palestinian
government. However, sources familiar with the report, drawn up by
Amman, Israel's military intelligence branch, describe it as "raw
intelligence" from an extensive dossier on the medical and
psychological profiles of prominent figures worldwide. The report
emphasizes that "in spite of the symptoms, Arafat's mental and
psychological functions show no signs of deterioration". It says it
could be years before Parkinson's, a progressive disease of the
nervous system, renders him incapable of fulfilling his duties.
According to the report, Arafat, 68, is being treated with L-dopa, a
drug used in Parkinson's patients to counter weakness and tremor
caused by deficiencies of a compound called dopamine that affects
impulses between nerves and muscles. It also claims that Arafat is
suffering from sclerosis - abnormal hardening - of the brain tissue.
The diagnosis will come as no surprise to those who have seen him at
close quarters in recent months. In September he collapsed at an Arab
League meeting in Cairo. He fainted at a session of the Palestinian
legislative council last month and was taken to hospital. Those who
have met Arafat in recent weeks say he sometimes has difficulty in
speaking. His lower lip, hands and feet tremble involuntarily and his
memory is said to lapse.
The intelligence report indicates that his handwriting has changed and
his face has become frozen, a typical side effect of Parkinson's. His
gait and posture are said to have stiffened and his eyes are sometimes
fixed on a point in the distance. The report concludes that he is in
constant pain.
Arafat, however, has been written off many times before. In 1967 he
narrowly escaped capture when Israeli troops occupied the West Bank
and Gaza Strip in the six-day war. In 1982, Israel's attacks on
Lebanon forced him to flee by ferry with a ragged band of Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) fighters to Tunis.
His luckiest escape came in 1992 when his plane was forced to make a
crash-landing in the Libyan desert.
Aides to Arafat claim his obvious nervous disorders are the harmless
result of a blood clot that developed after the accident. They say the
frustration of dealing with an Israeli government he accuses of
obstructing the Middle East peace process has also taken its toll on
Arafat's nerves.
Despite such pressures, he remains "as strong as an ox", according to
close advisers. While he no longer maintains a regime of 16-hour
working days, Palestinian officials still wait all night outside his
room for a brief meeting.
Their denials that Arafat is seriously ill have failed to halt
speculation among Middle Eastern analysts about who might succeed him.
Mahmoud Abbas, the secretary-general of the PLO, appears a likely
candidate.
However, most observers agree that Arafat's death would undermine the
Palestinian leadership. Without his authority, they say, overcoming
Islamic militants and striking a peace deal with Israel would be much
more difficult. Most dangerous of all could be a resurgence of support
for Hamas, the Islamic fundamentalist group, which has mounted a
series of suicide bomb attacks in Israel.
Some Israeli hawks welcome the prospect of instability that would
follow the Palestinian leader's death. They believe any deterioration
in his condition could provide an opportunity to ditch the Oslo peace
accord he signed with Yitzhak Rabin, the former Israeli premier who
was assassinated two years ago by a right-wing extremist.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, has made no significant
concessions. Many believe the death of Arafat would signal the end of
the Middle East peace process.
__________________________________________________________________
For past MER articles go to: http://WWW.MiddleEast.Org.
M I D - E A S T R E A L I T I E S
(c) Copyright 1998
[EMAIL PROTECTED] / Fax: 202 362-6965 / Phone: 202 362-5266
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