Arafat hopes for better relations with Syria By Lamia Lahoud JERUSALEM (June 13) - Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat will visit Damascus for the first time in five years to attend the funeral of Syrian president Hafez Assad, with whom he had strained relations. Arafat, who will be accompanied by his deputy Mahmoud Abbas, hopes to create a new relationship with Assad's son, Bashar. "It seems the Syrians are ready to improve their relations with us," said Palestinian Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Nabil Amr. "The Speaker of Parliament issued a statement welcoming Arafat." "We are eager to launch a dialogue with the new Syrian leader... This will be a chance for Arafat [to express his wish] to start cooperating on issues of common interest," a PA source said. These issues include the peace process and restraining Palestinian opposition groups which are operating out of Syria, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad. "I don't want to say that it is good that Assad is gone, but now there is a chance for a new era of Palestinian-Syrian relations," the PA source said. "With Assad gone there is no leader left in the Arab world who opposes Arafat and his peace agreement with Israel... without Assad's [protection], the opposition groups can't do anything in Syria," said Riad Malki, a Palestinian political analyst. Malki added it is likely that Bashar would be able to take over the leadership of Syria without any serious power struggle. Bashar, he argued, wants to show the world that he is creating a new Syria and that he is interested in creating good relations with Egypt and the international community, especially the US. Therefore, he will want to improve relations with the PA. Also, Bashar has an interest in improving relations in order to prevent the thousands of Palestinians in the refugee camps in Syria and Lebanon from siding with his uncle Rifaat against him. Bashar has a lot of enemies, including Islamic fundamentalists and powerful members of the old guard of the Ba'ath Party, against whom he has let an anti-corruption campaign, said a senior PA security officer. He does not believe relations between the PA and Syria will improve in the near future. "Bashar will want to follow in the footsteps of his father.... Therefore, nothing much will change [with regard to Syrian-based opposition groups]," he said. They will continue to try to boycott the peace process with the backing of the Syrian government, he said. Assad housed and supported Palestinian opposition groups opposed to Arafat and the peace process, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, because he resented Arafat for signing the Oslo accords with Israel in 1994, without coordinating with him. Arafat traveled to Syria with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for today's funeral. Malki believes that Mubarak will try to improve Syrian-Palestinian relations, now that he is the only strong Arab leader left. Palestinians call for violence; Barak says countdown may begin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weekend News Today By Andra Brack Source: Arutz-7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mon Jun 12,2000 -- Another round of talks between Israel and the Palestinians will begin today in Washington. Prime Minister Barak said yesterday that developments in the talks over the next few weeks will tell us whether a countdown has begun towards a military confrontation with the Palestinian Authority. Nothing much is expected to result from the new round of talks. Problems keep arising. Even the offer of 90% or more of Judea and Samaria that Israel recently proposed is not enough for the Palestinians, because they demand 100% - nothing less than what Egypt, Lebanon, and even Syria, more or less, received. Regarding the other major issues, such as Jerusalem and the refugees, there has been no change in either the Israeli or Palestinian positions. The bottom line is, then, that not only will there be no permanent-status agreement by Sept. 13, but even a framework agreement is questionable. All of this leads to the question of what Arafat wants: A military clash with Israel? Is he afraid to make any concessions that he will then have to present to his public? Arafat's position is simply not clear. Fatah, the PLO's military wing, continues to claim that it is "legitimate to use arms against settlers and army in areas under PA control." The current editorial on the Fatah website, www.fateh.net, states, "Negotiations are an important option, but not the only one, for deciding both interim and final status issues... The areas which have been liberated and which are now controlled by the PNA are the areas in which it makes most sense to demonstrate Palestinian sovereignty. Therefore, in those areas, it is legitimate to confront settlers and the Israeli army with all possible means, including the use of arms..." An even stronger call for violence was made two days ago by Palestinian Legislative Council member Abbas Zaki. Speaking at a ceremony in Bethlehem in the presence of Palestinian Justice "Minister" Freih Abu Medein, Zaki said, "We will not agree to any solution that does not solve all the problems... We are the stronger side of the equation, and there are 5000 clean rifles that can force this equation upon Israel." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------