The man who forged Palestinian identity

It was an inadvertent tribute by President Bush to Yasser Arafat's 36 years as leader of the Palestinians and to a controversial man admired by some as a freedom fighter and reviled by others as a terrorist.

Asked to comment on what turned out to be premature reports of Mr. Arafat's death last week, Mr. Bush said, "My first reaction is, May God bless his soul. My second reaction is that we will continue to work for a free Palestinian state that is at peace with Israel."

That second part points up Mr. Arafat's foremost success: keeping the cause of Palestinian statehood alive until it was endorsed by the international community, including the US and - at least formally - by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Israel.

As Palestinians readied for Arafat's funeral in Cairo and burial in his battered Ramallah headquarters, there was a sense among US and Israeli leaders that a new opportunity for peacemaking could open now that Arafat, whom they shunned, is gone.

But reviving the international blueprint for peace, known as the road map, may prove difficult, as Israelis and Palestinians each expect the other to make the first move. The plan calls for the establishment

of a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.

Palestinians say Arafat, who Israel alleged was involved in terror, was never the real obstacle to peace. They blame Israel's hard-hitting army policies and what they say was Mr. Sharon's desire to avoid negotiations. Their suspicions seemed to them to be confirmed when Sharon's senior adviser, Dov Weisglass, recently said that the prime minister had been endeavoring to freeze the peace process.

"We are now in a place where we have to see if the Israelis are serious about peace or not," says Palestinian legislator Dalal Salameh, from the Fatah movement, which Arafat headed. "They have been saying no negotiations with Arafat. Now, something has happened from God, and we have a new leadership after Arafat."

Sharon told Israel's Y-net news agency: "I hope the new leadership that emerges will understand that progress in relations and a solution to the problems depend first and foremost on a war by them against terror, and its complete cessation."

In addition to mourning, the Palestinians Thursday concentrated on making a smooth transition and avoiding a power vacuum. Mahmoud Abbas was voted into Arafat's old job as head of the PLO executive committee, while Rawhi Fatouh, the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, took the oath of acting president of the Palestinian Authority for 60 days, during which elections are to be held. Mr. Abbas, a moderate who is internationally respected for his role in the Oslo self-rule agreement, was mentioned Thursday as a leading contender when Fatah conducts its nomination for the presidency. Because of the presence of Israeli troops breaking up the election districts, the polling can take place only with Israel's agreement. One of Abbas's first jobs is expected to be to try to secure it.

Arafat's critics say that along with bringing the Palestinians in sight of the promised land of statehood, Arafat leaves behind a West Bank and Gaza Strip in shambles.

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