Refreshing sign in PLO

Thursday, March 20, 2003

PALESTINIANS now have a prime minister wielding powers long monopolized by Yasser Arafat. The change could help restart the peace process with the Israelis, who have given up on Arafat as a credible negotiating partner.

Finding a way around the devious leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization also is a condition for the Bush administration to advance its "road map" toward Palestinian statehood and an overall settlement with the Israelis. The plan is co-sponsored by Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

The moderate PLO official on whom much hope for a breakthrough now rests is Mahmoud Abbas, 67, a longtime associate of Arafat, who opposes anti-Israel violence.

Thanks to Palestinian legislators rebuffing an Arafat bid to weaken the new post, Abbas will be empowered to name a cabinet and supervise such troubled ministries as that governing security.

He needs a quick signal of Israel's readiness to deal with him and ease the plight of Palestinians in occupied territory. Arafat should be kept on the sidelines and not allowed to impede a new push for peace.

©2003 San Francisco Chronicle