Sick Arafat unites Palestine

2004-11-05 19:52

Gaza City - Palestinian officials and leaders from armed factions closed ranks on Friday in a bid to ensure security and keep a lid on any instability if Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat dies in a French hospital.

The main factions convened a rare meeting in Gaza City ahead of talks with prime minister Ahmed Qorei, scheduled for Saturday.

Security forces were on high alert throughout the occupied Palestinian territories.

Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said after the three-hour session: "We will do our best to uphold (Palestinian unity) and veer away from internal conflict. This is a historic time and we should work through it united."

Khalid el-Batsh, a leader of the rival militant group Islamic Jihad, said: "The priority is to maintain Palestinian unity, control the situation and press on with the intifada.

"There is no place for a ceasefire in the coming period," he added.

'Serious national dialogue'

Members of Arafat's Fatah faction and the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) also attended the meeting.

Earlier, a Fatah spokesperson said it was "very important during this critical phase to have a serious national dialogue".

A PFLP representative said an overall leadership was vital for unity and criticised the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) for failing to share responsibilities.

Kayed al-Ghoul said: "Most Palestinian factions, if not all, agree on having a Palestinian leadership...

"The PLO does not grant partnership to the factions or allow them to participate in decision-making."

Palestinian foreign minister Nabil Shaath said Qorei would meet with representatives of the armed factions on Saturday to discuss the security situation in view of Arafat's health crisis.

Making sure situation does not unravel

Friday's meeting came as Arafat remained in a coma at a hospital outside Paris, with the Palestinian envoy to France, Leila Shahid, denying reports from medical sources that the ailing 75-year-old was brain-dead.

Earlier, a high-level Palestinian security official said on condition of anonymity that security services would work with the factions to make sure the situation did not unravel in the territories.

"There is a high degree of co-operation between the different factions and the Palestinian security services aimed at controlling the situation and ensuring that order reigns," the official said.

"All parties are determined to live in peace during the period following president Arafat's expected death," he said, noting that new agreements had been reached but contacts were ongoing.

"The situation in Gaza is stable and all indications show that there has not been any violation of security in the region."

He ruled out any Israeli military operation after an announcement of Arafat's death.

"We do not think Israel will take advantage of an event such as the death of President Arafat to launch a wide-scale offensive against the Palestinian territories," he said.

- AFP