Young Palestinians, after rule of Arafat, hope for rule of law

Israel's interior minister, Avraham Poraz, has raised a storm over the issue by suggesting at a cabinet meeting that Barghouti could be released "under certain circumstances." What those circumstances might be is unclear. Barghouti, in his early 40s, does not look likely to emerge from prison as a Nelson Mandela-style figure. But others who are from the same generation of early '90s Palestinian activism are beginning to emerge as a more vocal and assertive cadre.

"Mostly, people are looking forward to seeing a society built on the rule of law," says Dallal Salameh, a young woman from Nablus who is a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. "People are thirsty for it."

That sentiment became all the more palpable over the weekend when Abbas narrowly escaped a gunfight that erupted in Gaza late Sunday outside an official mourning tent for Arafat's death. Palestinian officials denied initial reports that it was an assassination attempt. Abbas blamed the shooting on "previous chaos" in Gaza, referring to intraparty disputes that erupted this past summer.

At that time, militant offshoots of Fatah had grown frustrated with corruption and nepotism in Arafat's regime. Now, it is unclear whether Abbas will be seen as someone who offers a substantial change after Arafat, or whether he will represent more of the same. Some Palestinians lump Abbas in with the elite clique of "outsiders" whom Arafat brought from Tunisia and other countries.

Renewed charges of corruption, and reports that Arafat was hoarding far more cash in his private accounts than previously thought, might complicate Abbas' image as a candidate for election. Moreover, hard-liners and rejectionists believe that Abbas has historically been too keen to make concessions to Israel for peace: he was one of the chief negotiators of the Oslo Accords. Further, he went out on a limb in June 2003 by explicitly calling for a cessation of terror, which angered Palestinians who think that an "all means necessary" approach to the intifada is justifiable.

"We don't deny Abu Mazen was also a struggler," says Khaled Issa, a teacher from Hebron in his mid-30s. "He worked with Arafat since the beginning of the revolution. But Arafat was accepted by Hamas more than Abu Mazen is, and this will create a nightmare for Abu Mazen. Arafat was able to unite the PLO and all sorts of different factions."

Ahmed Ghneim, a leading figure on the Fatah Revolutionary Council and another of those viewed as the party's "young guard," says that Abu Mazen only needs the party to throw its full backing behind him as a candidate. "I'm optimistic, because as long as the Israelis are ready, we are ready to go back to the road map, including a cease-fire." The shots, however, would also have to stop flying at home.

Mr. Mubarak, the university student, says he's hoping for a complete change of leadership, even if it means going through a phase of uncertainty. "Abu Mazen, we tried him before and he failed," he says, as cars carpeted with Arafat's picture stream by him. "We won't have a civil war, but we may have a period of instability in which perhaps many governments will be replaced until we find the right one."

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