Arafat Promises to Restructure Govt, Hold Polls

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, May 16, 2002

Arafat Promises to Restructure Govt, Hold Polls

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat Wednesday promised to restructure his government and hold elections, amid growing Israeli and United States pressure for reforms to his leadership.

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Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat Wednesday promised to restructure his government and hold elections, amid growing Israeli and United States pressure for reforms to his leadership.

In his first address to Parliament since emerging from five months of being confined to his Ramallah headquarters by the Israeli army, he also admitted to making errors.

He said he accepted blame for botching up during the tortuous peace process, claiming ''full responsibility'' for deals made in the siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and his own Ramallah office complex.

He has been widely criticised for agreeing to send 13 Palestinian men into exile - a first in the long conflict with Israel.

In his 40-minute speech before the Palestinian Legislative Council, Mr Arafat for the first time addressed growing Palestinian calls for reforms to his eight-year-old administration.

He also said he remained committed to a negotiated peace deal with Israel and reiterated his opposition to attacks on Israeli civilians, saying such violence harms Palestinian drive for statehood.

Legislators listened in silence, his words only acknowledged from time to time with a smattering of applause. Many of Mr Arafat's critics remained sceptical, noting that he had made similar promises in the past.

He also heaped most of the blame for the current crisis on Israel, dedicating large parts of his rambling speech to listing the damage caused during Israel's six-week military offensive that ended last week.

''Our internal situation after the recent Israeli attacks needs a comprehensive review of all aspects of our life,'' he told the legislature.

''I propose...immediate preparation for elections...that would lead to fulfil the principle of separation of powers.'' He did not give details. The first and only Palestinian elections were held in January 1996.

Mr Arafat's speech came on ''Naqba Day'' which marked the ''catastrophe'' - the uprooting of Palestinians during the 1948 war that erupted when Israel declared independence. In recent years, tens of thousands of Palestinians took to the streets for the commemorations, but yesterday's turnout was much smaller.

Only about 400 Palestinians marched from the Shati refugee camp to nearby Gaza City. Palestinian officials said people were too caught up in the day-to-day difficulties to mark the day.

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