Edward Saaed: Arafat's days are numbered
Palestine, Politics, 9/12/2002

Palestinian writer Edward Saeed said that the days of the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat among his people "are numbered" at a time when the next Palestinian elections will not bring in any change in the leadership because Arafat is the one who is organizing these elections.

Saeed, a professor at Columbia University, in a press conference during the convening of the first international conference on Middle East Studies denied the hopes pinned that the elections of January 2003 will introduce any change.

Professor Saeed who is critical of Arafat said "I do not think that many will take part in the elections," noting that these elections will not be meaningful because they are based on the Oslo agreement which the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon declared as void.

Saeed continued that there is great awareness inside the Palestinian society that solving the conflict requires cooperation with peace groups in Israel, and the prevailing idea now is that the "suicide attacks" against Israel bring in negative consequences.

Previous Stories:
  Mahmoud Abbas denies forthcoming meeting with Sharon because of Oslo statements   (9/11/2002)
  Palestinians legislative council reelects Qrei   (9/10/2002)
  Saudi crown prince urges Palestinians to be patient   (9/9/2002)

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