News on a committee to succeed Arafat denied, vagueness over his health condition

News was contradictory over the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat formation of a tripartite committee as a precaution for any emergency because of his deteriorated health condition which is vague.

While the advisor of the Palestinian President Nabil Abu Rudinah and the minister of telecommunications Azzam al-Ahmad denied these news, well informed Palestinian sources said that Arafat signed a decree to this effect with the membership of each of the prime minister Ahmad Qurei', his predecessor Mahmoud Abbas and the chairman of the Palestinian national council Salim al-Zanoun.

According to these sources which asked to be anonymous, the committee will be in charge of running the PLO and the Palestinian national authority until Arafat recovers.

The Palestinian constitution states that the speaker of the legislative council Rouhi al-Fattoush is to assume power in case of Arafat's death. But Palestinian officials explained that Fattoush does not "represent a considerable weight at the Palestinian political scenes and therefore the second man in the PLO Mahmoud Abbas and Ahmad Qurei' will assume authority when the presidency is empty.

Article 19 of the Palestinian constitution stated that the speaker of the legislative council is to assume authority in case of the death of the President for "60 days as a maximum period during which presidential elections are held."