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5/14/2002 (18:42) |
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Beating of Palestinian minister raises possibility of internal conflict
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
An unprecedented assault on a Palestinian Cabinet minister, apparently by fellow Palestinians, has raised the prospects of violent internal power struggles amid dissatisfaction with the regime of Yasser Arafat.
Five masked men jumped Cabinet minister Hassan Asfour outside his house in Ramallah late Monday, beating him with a club, breaking a leg and an arm and cutting his head.
Lying in a Ramallah hospital bed with his right leg in a cast up to his hip, another cast on his right arm and a bandage covering his scalp, Asfour hinted that the attack could be part of an internal power struggle.
'It's a disgusting act with the aim of inciting a civil war,' said Asfour. No one claimed responsibility.
In a statement, the Palestinian Authority condemned the assault on Asfour and called for the arrest of the attackers.
Looking for an explanation, Palestinians pointed to Asfour's links with a security chief and with Arafat.
Asfour is a key ally of Mohammed Dahlan, the head of Palestinian security in the Gaza Strip who is tipped as a possible successor to Arafat.
Dahlan's chief rival is Jibril Rajoub, the head of security in the West Bank. The two have been in a behind-the-scenes power struggle for years.
Some Palestinian analysts said Rajoub's allies might have been behind the attack in an attempt to discredit Dahlan, who has been trying to boost his influence in the West Bank. Asfour, one of Dahlan's closest allies in the West Bank, recently gave Dahlan office space for his West Bank headquarters.
Asked about the rivalry, Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said, 'We told both of them that they should keep silent and they should direct their efforts into rebuilding the services that were destroyed by the Israeli reoccupation forces,' a reference to the just-completed six-week Israeli operation in the West Bank, in which Palestinian ministry offices in the administrative capital of Ramallah were devastated.
Dahlan and Asfour, who both spent years in Israeli prisons, speak fluent Hebrew and were key Palestinian negotiators at the 2000 Camp David summit with Israel.
Since then, they have been frequent participants in security coordination talks with the Israelis and US officials.
However, Palestinians point to other possible reasons for the attack.
Asfour helped negotiate an end to Israeli sieges in Ramallah and Bethlehem over the past two weeks, including the exile of 13 suspected Palestinian militants who were holed up in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. They were flown to Cyprus on Friday as part of the deal to end a five-week Israeli siege.
The move has led to great anger among many Palestinians, who considered it a betrayal. It was the first time a Palestinian leader had endorsed expulsion of any of his people.
Also, some Palestinians said the attack could have also been part of a personal dispute involving family honor.
But most speculation centers on Asfour's close ties with Dahlan and Arafat.
When Israel laid siege to Arafat's headquarters, starting March 29, Dahlan and Asfour were among only three Palestinians allowed to enter and leave at will by the Israelis. The third was Arafat's economic adviser, Mohammed Rashid.
The attack comes amid growing anger against the Palestinian leadership. Palestinians have been calling for reforms of the leadership, which is widely regarded as corrupt. Surveys conducted by Palestinian polling agencies have consistently reflected dissatisfaction with Arafat's administration.
The United States has backed that call. Israel, going a step further, has demanded reforms as a condition for resuming peace talks.
Addressing his parliament on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said, 'There can be no peace with a corrupt terror regime that is rotten and dictatorial.'
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