Post by Salem6 on Feb 27, 2004 13:12:32 GMT
By Mohammed Darghmeh
Associated Press
27 February 2004
RAMALLAH, West Bank-- Yasser Arafat called a senior member of his
Fatah movement a traitor and threw a microphone at him during a
discussion on security reforms, an official who attended the
late-night session said Friday.
At a meeting late Thursday, Arafat was angered when Nasser Yousef -
a longtime Fatah member - questioned the unification and efficiency
of Palestinian security forces, an official who attended the meeting
said on condition of anonymity.
"You traitor, spy, shut your mouth, you have no right to talk,"
Arafat was quoted as shouting to Yousef before hurling a microphone
at him.
Yousef chucked a pen at the veteran Palestinian leader before other
members of the Fatah Revolutionary Council intervened and calmed
down the two septuagenarians.
The 126-member Revolutionary Council, Fatah's second highest body,
began a three-day conference Wednesday. This is the first meeting of
the council, which is supposed to meet every three months, since
violence erupted in September 2000.
Arafat and Yousef have clashed several times in the past, most
recently when the Palestinian leader prevented Yousef from serving
as Interior Minister, in charge of security forces, in Prime
Minister Ahmed Qureia's government.
Yousef - along with other members of Fatah and the Palestinian
Authority - has long called for reforms in the security forces.
Arafat has been stalling and opposing reforms, including a recent
demand by the European Union that some 25,000 security officers be
paid directly to their bank accounts. Currently, cash is given to
officers who then distribute the money among their employees.
Associated Press
27 February 2004
RAMALLAH, West Bank-- Yasser Arafat called a senior member of his
Fatah movement a traitor and threw a microphone at him during a
discussion on security reforms, an official who attended the
late-night session said Friday.
At a meeting late Thursday, Arafat was angered when Nasser Yousef -
a longtime Fatah member - questioned the unification and efficiency
of Palestinian security forces, an official who attended the meeting
said on condition of anonymity.
"You traitor, spy, shut your mouth, you have no right to talk,"
Arafat was quoted as shouting to Yousef before hurling a microphone
at him.
Yousef chucked a pen at the veteran Palestinian leader before other
members of the Fatah Revolutionary Council intervened and calmed
down the two septuagenarians.
The 126-member Revolutionary Council, Fatah's second highest body,
began a three-day conference Wednesday. This is the first meeting of
the council, which is supposed to meet every three months, since
violence erupted in September 2000.
Arafat and Yousef have clashed several times in the past, most
recently when the Palestinian leader prevented Yousef from serving
as Interior Minister, in charge of security forces, in Prime
Minister Ahmed Qureia's government.
Yousef - along with other members of Fatah and the Palestinian
Authority - has long called for reforms in the security forces.
Arafat has been stalling and opposing reforms, including a recent
demand by the European Union that some 25,000 security officers be
paid directly to their bank accounts. Currently, cash is given to
officers who then distribute the money among their employees.