Dear Readers
Here is the digest for November 23rd, 2004

1-Fatah Officially Nominates Abbas for Presidential Election
2- Sharon under Pressure


1-Fatah Officially Nominates Abbas for Presidential Election
IMEMC Staff & Agencies, November 23, 2004

The Central Committee of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement
(Fatah) decided on Monday night, to nominate Mahmoud Abbas, Chairman
of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) to run for the
presidential election to be held on January 9, 2005.

The Palestinians are to hold presidential election, according to the
law, two months after the death of President. The Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat died on November 11, leaving the space for
Rouhi Fattouh as an interim president for the Palestinian Authority
who was the chair of the Palestinian legislative Council.

The central committee asked president Fattouh to issue a presidential
decree to assign the legislative election in the middle of 2005. The
committee affirmed their commitment to hold democratic election to be
the base for building an "independent Palestinian state on the land
occupied in 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital".
Abbas: Fatah Central Committee Meeting; Positive

Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization,
said that the meeting of the Central Committee of Fatah held Sunday
night was "good and excellent."

Abbas told reporters after the meeting in Ramallah PA headquarters,
that Fatah leaders discussed issues related to the presidential
election and ways to ease the election process.

Abbas added that the meeting discussed the shooting incident in Gaza
including debriefing all the central committee members about the
incident.

Concerning the visit of the U.S. Secretary of State Collin Powell,
Abbas said, "There are several topics to be discussed with him. We
have many requests to Israel that we will submit through the American
Administration."

The Fatah Central Committee will resume its meeting Monday evening in
Ramallah to finally nominate someone for presidential election
scheduled to be held on January 9, 2005.


2- Sharon under Pressure
Analysis-Ghassan Andoni-IMEMC, November 20, 2004

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has never before publicly
expressed a level of anger than during a Thursday meeting with Likud
activists.

Sharon has kept his temper even when he faced the humiliation of being
outvoted by the Likud party central committee, even when he faced a
humiliating defeat in the Likud referendum, and even when he faced
accusations of conducting war crimes following the 1982 Sabra and
Shatila massacre.

However, on Thursday Sharon lashed out at the new Palestinian
Authority leadership, the Israeli left, the Israeli right, pessimists,
and at those who spread rumors.

It is puzzling that after he received what he has always wanted-
getting rid of an historical enemy, Yasser Arafat- Sharon feels the
heat and is loosing his temper.

He wants to reveal "the real faces" of the new Palestinian leadership
by presenting them with a test; "to immediately cease incitement and
remove any anti-Israeli phrase from the school curriculum".

During the meeting Sharon continued to whine: The left is pushing him
for faster steps and unconditional negotiations with the new PA
leadership; the right wing is incapable of understanding the new
challenges and is only interested in keeping Gaza settlements intact;
the public is following false rumors; and the pessimists are
presenting a false, gloomy picture of the future of the state.

Yet the heat Sharon feels is neither domestic nor regional, but in
fact is coming from overseas. Suddenly he is not the sole decision-
maker with unlimited U.S. backing. Many international players,
including key U.S. diplomats, are forcing their way onto the playing
field.

To explain how easily he dropped the backbone of his four year policy;
namely the demand for immediate engagement of the PA in fighting and
dismantling armed resistance groups, Sharon turned incitement against
Israel into the main problem. "Incitement is even more dangerous to
the state than suicide attacks," he stated.

The strong unwavering leader, who pushed the crisis towards
unprecedented frontiers ordering his troops to run a merciless battle
inside the narrow roads of the overcrowded Palestinian cities and
refugee camps, is evidently feeling the heat from the United States.

As the "master" in Washington signaled that it was not realistic for
Sharon to demand from the new PA leadership to immediately move
against armed groups, Sharon could only say "yes sir."

Sharon's main concern resides in the likeliness that Bush is leaning
towards accepting the European stand that the global war against
terror should be combined with serious efforts to solving the
Palestinian cause and establishing a Palestinian State.

An era of active international involvement in the Palestinian-Israeli
crisis has been Sharon's nightmare. The head of his Bureau Dov
Weisglass said it loud and clear in his famous Haaretz interview.

"Unilateral disengagement was the only way to avoid the Palestinian
state package proposed by the road map," Weisglass said.

Key international diplomats will flood the region next week. U.S.
Secretary of State, Colin Powell will arrive on Sunday; his successor
Condoleeza Rice promised Sharon's foreign minister that her first trip
abroad will be to Israel-Palestinian territories; British, Russian,
French, and Spanish foreign ministers are in their way; and the
Quartet will be holding its meeting in Egypt during the weekend.

Sharon's nightmare is coming true. Sharon fears are mostly ideological
ones. His plan to dictate a satellite Palestinian entity, which is
fully controlled by Israel, on 40% of the West Bank is being
challenged.

Sharon realizes that he needs to move with the tide. He hopes that in
time the current international thrust will fade and the issue will be
back in his hands.

Only Palestinians can provide Sharon with an escape from this dilemma.
If Palestinians fail to take advantage of this moment, if they fail to
face the challenge united, then evidently Sharon still has a winning
chance.


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