Arafat condemns terror attacks

IN A speech to the Palestinian parliament yesterday, Yasser Arafat condemned terror attacks on Israeli civilians, announced elections for early January and offered — apparently in jest — to give up executive powers.

The rambling speech was the Palestinian leader's first to the legislative council in 18 months. His lower lip quivering, Mr Arafat fumbled repeatedly with the microphones and strayed from the text, launching into asides that were, at times, incomprehensible.

Mr Arafat gave an address that was both conciliatory and packed with accusations against Israel. Israel banned 12 legislators from making the trip from Gaza to the West Bank town of Ramallah, saying they were involved in attacks on Israelis. Other Gazan lawmakers stayed behind and took part by video conference.

Several Palestinian legislators complained that Mr Arafat had failed to present his new Cabinet the result of a June reshuffle to parliament for approval, and that he had not set a specific election date, as legislators had demanded.

The vote on the Cabinet was to have been an important test of Mr Arafat's standing, and it was not clear whether he commands a majority in the 88-seat legislature.

The Palestinian leader has been weakened in recent months, with the United States shunning him and Israel trying to sideline him.

Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said the speech was meaningless and that Palestinian reform would not work with Mr Arafat in power.

Ismail Abu Shanab, a spokesman for the Islamic militant group Hamas, said Mr Arafat's speech was a disappointment and that he had no clear strategy on how to confront Israel.

In his speech, Mr Arafat said he condemned "attacks against Israeli civilians and at the same time of any attacks against Palestinian civilians".

But he did not explicitly call for an end to attacks on Israelis.

At one point, Mr Arafat said that reforms should be based on a separation of powers, then added: "Unless you want to bring somebody else in the executive authority. I wish you could do it and give me a rest."

Arafat aides later said he has repeatedly made the offer, always in jest, in internal meetings.

In other developments yesterday, troops blew up the house of a suspected Palestinian militant in the Boureij refugee camp. During the operation, about 60 tanks encircled Boureij and two adjacent camps. The army said the suspect was responsible for firing mortar bombs and for an attack on a tank in February that killed three soldiers.