Six nominees to succeed Arafat

Palestinian sources in Ramullah have talked about the appointment of Yasser Arafat, the chairman of the Palestinian Authority of six Palestinians as successors for him in case of his sudden absence.

The Palestinian al- Sannara, paper issued in the occupied territories quoted these sources as saying that the six Palestinians are Mahmoud Abbas, Ahmad Qrei, Saeb Oreikat, Yasser Abd Rabbu, Muhammad Dahlan and Farouk al-Qaddoumi the chairman of the PLO political department. Al-Qaddoumi was recently appointed by Arafat to the leadership of the PLO during his absence.

The sources indicated that Arafat's decision to appoint these persons came following the meeting he had held with the US secretary of state Colin Powell in Ramullah last Wednesday, the Israeli radio reported.