PLO leader Yasser Arafat acknowledges that reforms must be made in his Palestinian Authority - but he said that no one should come to him with specific demands to do so in the near future. In a speech late this morning to the Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah, Arafat said that the time has come to rebuild from scratch the PA institutions destroyed by Israel during Operation Defensive Shield, specifically in the areas of law, security, and education. He sharply criticized Israel, and repeatedly emphasized that his goal is the establishment a Palestinian state. Arafat opened his speech by denouncing suicide bombings against Israeli \"civilians,\" saying that such attacks \"do not further the aspirations of the Palestinian people.\"
While U.S. Government spokesmen, and even Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, praised the speech as being a \"positive development\" that must be \"given the test of actions,\" many Israelis were quite skeptical. Yediot Acharonot\'s PA-affairs correspondent Roni Shaked told Arutz-7 today that the speech was
\"very conciliatory, as it was meant for American and European ears. He talked of making changes, but was not at all specific - all in order \'so that we can get our goal, a Palestinian state.\' … Nothing has changed, he is still the same Arafat, but he is merely trying to shake off the pressure from the Americans, from his people at home, and even from Prime Minister Sharon...\"
Middle East Arab affairs expert Prof. Moshe Sharon was even more biting:
\"Nothing will change in the PA, because too many people are benefiting from the situation as it is… Do you realize how much money is streaming in to the PA from donor countries, and how much does not reach its intended targets? Every Palestinian in the street knows that if $10 million reaches them out of every $100 million that comes, that would be good… Arafat won\'t disappear on his own; we should have exiled him long ago. A war of inheritance would then begin, and then something would come of it. Until that happens, nothing will change... Arafat has cooperated with Iraq, and Iran, and every other terrorist element - it is unprecedented in world history that such a man should play such a major role in world politics.\"
Twenty terrorists on their way to carry out suicide attacks were arrested by IDF forces during the past three weeks. So said Central Commander Gen. Yitzchak Eitan today. \"There is no desire to stop terrorism in the PA,\" Eitan said. \"On the contrary; we see cooperation between PA elements and terrorist elements.\"
While U.S. Government spokesmen, and even Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, praised the speech as being a \"positive development\" that must be \"given the test of actions,\" many Israelis were quite skeptical. Yediot Acharonot\'s PA-affairs correspondent Roni Shaked told Arutz-7 today that the speech was
\"very conciliatory, as it was meant for American and European ears. He talked of making changes, but was not at all specific - all in order \'so that we can get our goal, a Palestinian state.\' … Nothing has changed, he is still the same Arafat, but he is merely trying to shake off the pressure from the Americans, from his people at home, and even from Prime Minister Sharon...\"
Middle East Arab affairs expert Prof. Moshe Sharon was even more biting:
\"Nothing will change in the PA, because too many people are benefiting from the situation as it is… Do you realize how much money is streaming in to the PA from donor countries, and how much does not reach its intended targets? Every Palestinian in the street knows that if $10 million reaches them out of every $100 million that comes, that would be good… Arafat won\'t disappear on his own; we should have exiled him long ago. A war of inheritance would then begin, and then something would come of it. Until that happens, nothing will change... Arafat has cooperated with Iraq, and Iran, and every other terrorist element - it is unprecedented in world history that such a man should play such a major role in world politics.\"
Twenty terrorists on their way to carry out suicide attacks were arrested by IDF forces during the past three weeks. So said Central Commander Gen. Yitzchak Eitan today. \"There is no desire to stop terrorism in the PA,\" Eitan said. \"On the contrary; we see cooperation between PA elements and terrorist elements.\"