The Palestinian "WAFA" news agency this week published the full text of PLO Chief Yasser Arafat's speech in Davos, Switzerland. Noteworthy was Arafat's statement that the Taba talks were "serious and important." This stands in sharp contrast to the words of Salim Z'anoun, the chairman of the Palestinian National Council. He said Tuesday night that the sessions were not meant to produce a signed deal, but "to save Ehud Barak from being trounced by Ariel Sharon in the upcoming elections." Iran's IRNA news agency says that it is "amply clear that the optimistic tone displayed immediately after the talks was not really genuine and probably solely aimed at boosting Barak's chances of beating Sharon in the election."
Particularly perplexing to those who have read of the Palestinian roadside bombs, drive-by shootings, and armed attacks on the periphery of many Yesha communities since September - was Arafat's call upon the International community, "to work for ending this Israeli war and aggression against our unarmed people". Thus, Arafat called for "international protection" for Yesha Arabs.
According to Wafa, Arafat then cited the Netanyahu and then Barak governments for their policy of "starvation and collective punishment....The current Government of Israel is waging, for the last four months, a savage and barbaric war, as well as, a blatant and fascist military aggression against our Palestinian people. In this aggression it is using internationally prohibited weapons..."
Finally, Arafat seems to have ignored the fact that major financial abuses of his regime - as reported in the London Times last year - have prevented internationally donated monies from reaching the average PA resident. This column reported over the past two weeks how even the majority of Arab donor nations have chosen not to channel promised funds through the PA due to financial corruption. As a result of Israel's closures alone, Arafat maintained in Davos, "the percentage of those who are living under the poverty line has risen to 75% and the GNP has seen a sharp annual decrease in the millions of US dollars."
Particularly perplexing to those who have read of the Palestinian roadside bombs, drive-by shootings, and armed attacks on the periphery of many Yesha communities since September - was Arafat's call upon the International community, "to work for ending this Israeli war and aggression against our unarmed people". Thus, Arafat called for "international protection" for Yesha Arabs.
According to Wafa, Arafat then cited the Netanyahu and then Barak governments for their policy of "starvation and collective punishment....The current Government of Israel is waging, for the last four months, a savage and barbaric war, as well as, a blatant and fascist military aggression against our Palestinian people. In this aggression it is using internationally prohibited weapons..."
Finally, Arafat seems to have ignored the fact that major financial abuses of his regime - as reported in the London Times last year - have prevented internationally donated monies from reaching the average PA resident. This column reported over the past two weeks how even the majority of Arab donor nations have chosen not to channel promised funds through the PA due to financial corruption. As a result of Israel's closures alone, Arafat maintained in Davos, "the percentage of those who are living under the poverty line has risen to 75% and the GNP has seen a sharp annual decrease in the millions of US dollars."