Arafat’s Leadership Under Attack
According to a new UN report, 63% of Palestinians are living below poverty line, and are depended on humanitarian assistant. But is this appalling situation the fault of Israel or the West, as Palestinian chairman, Arafat repeatedly claims? A New York Times editorial argues that Arafat himself is responsible for much of the community’s misfortune, failing to make the transition from ‘romantic revolutionary’ to ‘statesman’. Internal dissatisfaction with Arafat appears to be growing with Palestinian lawmaker, Hannan Ashrawi calling on him to end his quote, ‘one man show’. There are also claims of donor funds being used improperly by the Palestinian Authority. Hagar Cohen spoke to Dr. Gil Merom from the Department of International Relations at Sydney University.