Slaughtering Arafat

By Sami Moubayed,
Special to Gulf News
Published: July 10, 2007, 00:15
Gulf-News

Let us slaughter him our way - not yours" were the words of former Palestinian minister of security Mohammad Dahlan in reference to the late president Yasser Arafat. Dahlan was writing these words to Shaul Mofaz, the former Israeli minister of defence under prime minister Ariel Sharon.

The letter was dated July 13, 2003.

This is the Hamas version of the story. After their takeover of Gaza, the leaders of Hamas found countless documents at the security offices of Fatah, incriminating its leadership in political fraud, embezzlement, and contacts like these with the Israelis.

The Dahlan letter - by far the most outrageous of all documents if proven to be correct - was leaked to a variety of Arabic media outlets, among which was the Lebanese weekly Al-Kifah Al Arabi.

The letter was written when Dahlan was serving as cabinet minister under Mahmoud Abbas.

Back then, Abbas was trying to reach a truce, and eventually disarm Hamas, to implement the Roadmap of US President George W. Bush.

Dahlan starts out his letter saying:

"You must know that we operate according to conviction rather than orders from anyone."

He adds,

"Mr. Minister of Defence. We realised that you are a civilised and democratic state, just like America. You cannot tolerate mafia gangs (he does not mention Hamas by name) and this is your total right. Be assured that this era has gone with no return and an era of law, accountability, and centralised government has began."

He points out,

"all this requires cooperation between us to achieve objectives that are in your interest and ours. That is why I ask that you show more flexibility when dealing with us, for the sake of the objective that we are trying to reach: peace."

This was a time when Arafat was struggling with both Abbas and Dahlan to survive as head of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

Dahlan mentions Arafat saying:

"The fear now is that Yasser Arafat will merge the Legislative Council to withdraw confidence (from the Abbas cabinet). To prevent him from doing that, I wish to see cooperation from all parties and pressure (on him)."

He adds, "Be certain that Mr Yasser Arafat has been counting his final days. Let us slaughter him our way - not yours."

Promise

This promise he remarks was made before Bush, noting that he would be willing to sacrifice his life to see it materialise.

Dahlan - presumably -signs off "respectfully" sending his regards to Sharon.

Hamas claims that it has many similar documents, which it will reveal in due course, to show the truth behind Dahlan and other members of Fatah.

The Hamas Minister of Interior in Gaza, Khalil Heya, spoke of videocassettes he had discovered at the offices of Fatah, implicating members of Fatah in illegal sexual activity.

These videos had been recorded by Dahlan himself as a way of blackmailing senior officials in Palestine, a tactic first practised in the Arab world by former Egyptian intelligence chief Salah Nasr during the years of president Jamal Abdul Nasser.

Hamas has refused to reveal these videos but Palestinian sources claim they have already been leaked and will eventually surface on the internet.

The existence of these videos, if proven correct, might explain why many senior members of Fatah, who usually appear frequently on Arabic satellite television debate shows, have been quiet in recent weeks. They might be afraid that any anti-Hamas rhetoric would backfire.

Hamas is worried - to say the least - by the unprecedented support that Abbas and Fatah have been getting from the Arab World, the US, and Israel.

Hamas sees Abbas and Dahlan as the architects of the friendship between Fatah and Israel, and are trying to discredit both - at any cost.

...Was the Dahlan-Mofaz document authentic?

We probably will never know the reality behind it. It might be a Hamas fabrication but given Dahlan's record, it might be real, although it is highly doubtful that if such a document existed, Dahlan would leave it at the offices of Palestinian security in Gaza - a region that always, has been dominated by Hamas - even during the Arafat era.

Perhaps the letter was doctored. Perhaps it was true. Or perhaps, parts of it were true and the rest were Hamas "flavour".

History will tell but this adds further proof that Arafat did not die a natural death and that his killers might have been members of his own entourage.

Sami Moubayed is a Syrian political analyst.