Arafat sparks crisis in Palestinian government
Palestinian leaders were today locked in a power struggle triggered by Yasser Arafat’s attempt to hand control over all the security forces to a loyalist in apparent hope of sidelining the US-backed Palestinian security chief, officials said.
The current security chief, Mohammed Dahlan, is supported by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, whom Arafat has repeatedly tried to undermine since appointing him in April under US pressure.
