Yasser Arafat, whose real name is Rahman Abdul Rauf el-Qudwa al-Husseini, is ill.
Stories about his illness is reminiscent of accounts you read about the death of kings of yore. Lots of running around, huge pressure on the physicians, people coming in to either say their goodbyes or mark their allegiance, lots of misinformation and speculation. Everyone outside wondering what's going to happen next, and who will take over.
His wife flew in from Paris, visiting him for the first time in six years. The doctors are supposedly saying he needs to go to Paris for treatment (and his wife is probably saying "Damn! I traveled all the way to this hellhole for nothing?") Arafat supposedly refuses. There are undoubtedly medical facilities a few miles away in Israel that treat him, but Arafat is probably not inclined to ask the Israelis for help, and if he dies they'll blame the doctors.
Rumor also has it that likely successors are playing it cool, since they're worried what might happen to them if Arafat recovers. Something called officiousness, according to Debka.
I hope he dies. And it's not because it'll make the Israelis safer in the long run; it probably won't. But I want it for the Palestinians, who will have a chance to discuss and contemplate what kind of leadership they want.
But there may be rage, civil war, insurrection, etc., first. There are probably lots of leaders who would like to attend his funeral, but security is going to be kind of tough. He probably wants to be buried in Jerusalem, but the Israelis probably don't. I'm just guessing. In any event, it'll be interesting what the press releases say. Lots of weasel words, I'm sure.
In any event, although the Palestinians won't appreciate this, I do think that Arafat's demise is a good thing for them and peace in the region. Or at least I hope so.
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