Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia met in Gaza City yesterday with leaders of the main Pales-tinian armed factions and security officials in a bid to prevent any outbreak of violence if Palestinian President Yasser Arafat dies.
The meeting brought together Qureia, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Fatah, as well as Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath and parliamentary speaker Rawhi Fattuh.
While Arafat fights for his life at a French military hospital, officials from his Palestinian Authority and rival factions have appealed for unity and calm.
Under the Palestinian Basic Law, Fattuh would replace Arafat for 60 days should the Palestinian Authority president die or become incapacitated, at which time elections would have to be held.
"This joint meeting is very important. It is a very sensitive time ... We will ask the leaders of the security services to do everything to protect the Palestinian people and the Palestinian areas," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.
Khalid el-Batsh, a leader of Islamic Jihad, also called on Qureia and the security services to "protect security and put an end to all differences."
"We will ask Qureia and brother Abu Mazen [Mahmud Abbas] to face this crisis by ensuring that the Palestinian leadership is united," he said.
On Friday, representatives of the armed factions agreed on the need to prevent political rivalries giving way to violence.
Fears of unrest in Gaza are particularly acute as clashes between armed factions and the security forces have broken out on a number of occasions in recent months.
"All parties are determined to live in peace during the period following president Arafat's expected death," a Palestinian security official said, noting the "high degree of cooperation" between security services and the factions.
In Lebanon, Shiite militant group Hezbollah called on Palestinians to unite ahead of Arafat's looming death, saying Israel is counting on discord in their ranks.
"Palestinians in general and Palestinian groups in particular are called upon to unite and cooperate with each other to get through this tough and crucial period," Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah was quoted as saying by the local press.
While there has been no official word, Qureia's talks in Gaza are likely to touch on the issue of where Arafat should be buried.
In the morning, Qureia met US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Elizabeth Dibble in the West Bank city of Ramallah, officials said, giving no further details.
The ailing leader is understood to want to be buried in Jerusa-lem's al-Aqsa mosque compound, but Israel is staunchly opposed to his burial in the holy city and is also reluctant to authorize a funeral in the West Bank.
"Jerusalem is the city where Jewish kings are buried and not Arab terrorists," Israeli Justice Minister Tommy Lapid said.
In Paris, top Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rudeina said Arafat remained in critical condition but that he was not beyond recovery.
Aides said Arafat was not brain dead and not on life support, refuting reports earlier this week.
The Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported yesterday that Arafat opened his eyes and communicated with doctors during the night.
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
SUPPORT: Arms sales to NATO Plus countries such as Japan, South Korea and Israel only have to be approved by the US Congress if they exceed US$25m The US should amend a law to add Taiwan to the list of “NATO Plus” allies and streamline future arms sales, a US commission said on Tuesday in its annual report to the US Congress. The recommendation was made in the annual report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which contained chapters on US-China economic and trade ties, security relations, and Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the chapter on Taiwan, the commission urged the US Congress to “amend the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to include Taiwan on the list of ‘NATO Plus’ recipients,” referring to
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is
RSS