Muhammad Dahlan - the former head of PA Preventative Security in Gaza under Yasser Arafat - is attempting to assume a "moderate" image, in likely preparation for a bid to succeed Arafat. Dahlan, who is directly responsible for the murder of at least four Israelis and the maiming of the three Cohen children in the Kfar Darom bus bombing and other attacks, came out yesterday with a scathing verbal assault on Arafat. "Arafat has completed his job," Dahlan told at least two European newspapers over the weekend. "The territories are falling apart, and he and everyone around him is corrupt... The Palestinian public wants him out. He is nothing but the President of the Mukata [the compound in which Arafat has been holed up for over two years]."
It should be noted that Dahlan himself is not free of corruption. In the year 2000, Gen. (res.) Danny Yatom, the chief security aide of then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak, prepared a 60-page document detailing many incidents of corruption by senior PA leaders - including Dahlan. The document was originally meant to be publicized in Israel and sent to Israeli missions abroad as part of Israel's information campaign against the Palestinian Authority. Barak, however, ordered most of the report buried, explaining, "It will be impossible to convince the Israeli public to reach an agreement with the Palestinians after it is publicized."
Shortly after the weekend interviews were published, Dahlan called a press conference to say that he never attacked Arafat, and that it was merely an Israeli ploy to sow discord within the Palestinian Authority. The criticism of Arafat is nothing new, however, and has been heard - anonymously - in many other PA circles.
Dahlan also warned against the takeover of the PA-controlled territories by Hamas. In the past, however, he has defended Hamas, and often refused Israeli demands to arrest Hamas terrorists. In March 1997, for instance, he said, "We will close our ears to Israel's demands that we arrest Hamas activists and make believe we didn't hear."
It should be noted that Dahlan himself is not free of corruption. In the year 2000, Gen. (res.) Danny Yatom, the chief security aide of then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak, prepared a 60-page document detailing many incidents of corruption by senior PA leaders - including Dahlan. The document was originally meant to be publicized in Israel and sent to Israeli missions abroad as part of Israel's information campaign against the Palestinian Authority. Barak, however, ordered most of the report buried, explaining, "It will be impossible to convince the Israeli public to reach an agreement with the Palestinians after it is publicized."
Shortly after the weekend interviews were published, Dahlan called a press conference to say that he never attacked Arafat, and that it was merely an Israeli ploy to sow discord within the Palestinian Authority. The criticism of Arafat is nothing new, however, and has been heard - anonymously - in many other PA circles.
Dahlan also warned against the takeover of the PA-controlled territories by Hamas. In the past, however, he has defended Hamas, and often refused Israeli demands to arrest Hamas terrorists. In March 1997, for instance, he said, "We will close our ears to Israel's demands that we arrest Hamas activists and make believe we didn't hear."