Freed From Siege, Arafat Can’t Escape the Pressures of Politics

NABLUS, West Bank —  Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat toured the battle-scarred West Bank on Monday, encouraging his people and kissing babies’ cheeks after the lifting of a ban on his movement gave him his first opportunity to travel in six months.

But even as he enjoyed freedom of movement, the Palestinian leader found himself increasingly hemmed in politically. He’s been slammed by the U.S. and Israel for not ending suicide bombings, and by hard-line Palestinians for agreeing to exile militia members and otherwise “selling out” the cause.

President Bush, Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon all reaffirmed over the previous 24 hours their belief that a Palestinian state should be established. As always, however, views vary widely on how soon it should be established and how extensive it should be.

In one sign of the growing pressure Arafat faces, he opted to stay in his car Monday as it sped through the Jenin refugee camp, site of a brutal battle between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen last month.

Jenin residents chanted the name of Mohammed Tawanbeh, a recently killed member of the militant group Islamic Jihad, as Arafat’s car approached--a challenge to the Palestinian leader, given his recent condemnation of violence. They also reportedly set fire to the platform from which he was due to speak.

Aides to Arafat attributed the fire to an electrical short. And they said he didn’t stop because the large crowds and danger of unexploded bombs threatened his safety. Others said the real reason was his reluctance to face his critics.

“Arafat is weakened and losing touch with the grass roots,” said Husam Khader, a leader from the Balata refugee camp and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. “He’s more afraid of real democracy than he is of Israeli incursions.”

However, signs of dissent within Palestinian ranks were relatively limited, at least in public, on a day when thousands turned out to greet Arafat in cities hit hard by the Israeli military incursions.

Arafat and his aides bypassed the many Israeli checkpoints that have made travel difficult for average Palestinians by flying between West Bank cities in a pair of Jordanian military helicopters before transferring to motorcades.

As he emerged from Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, theChristian site that was the scene of a 51/2-week standoff between Palestinians and the Israeli military, Arafat said, “Being here after the siege has been lifted brings pride to us all.”

The Bethlehem crisis was ended by a deal in which 13 Palestinians considered extremely dangerous by Israel were exiled abroad. An additional 26 seen as moderately dangerous were sent to the Gaza Strip.

In Nablus, Arafat was surrounded by crowds that cheered as soon as his helicopter landed near a prison built by the British in the early 20th century and used successively by Jordan, Israel and the Palestinians.

Yousef Hassouneh, a 42-year-old food shop owner standing along Arafat’s route, did not think that the Palestinian leader should be back in his Ramallah headquarters working on his regime’s many organizational problems rather than glad-handing people.

“On the contrary, his presence is good for morale,” Hassouneh said, holding a banner on the side of the dusty road that read “Welcome Mister President, Symbol of Resolve.”

Arafat next headed into Nablus’ casbah, the narrow network of alleys, archways and tunnels where he viewed the ruins of a soap factory destroyed by the Israelis, who suspected that it housed Palestinian gunmen. He also viewed several houses farther up the hill toppled by Israeli bulldozers in a bid to gain better access to a densely packed area that dates back centuries.

Ehsen Fahd, a 29-year-old graphic artist whose apartment lies between the two sites, said the neighborhood’s mood is one of despair and frustration in the wake of the Israeli incursion.

Fahd said a few of the Israeli actions seemed to have some rough logic. Several armed men were seen in and around the soap factory, for instance, including some outsiders seeking refuge in the dense old city.

But he claimed that far more cases involved the destruction of homes, businesses and the lives of innocent people.

As Arafat walked through the narrow alleys plastered with posters of armed men killed in attacks on Israelis, the crowd jostled him and chanted slogans. Nearby, 12-year-old Mais Nablusi clutched a speech she hoped to read to Arafat. “He means everything to me,” she said.

Others said he means less and less to them. “I’m not very happy to see him,” said Ghassan Thaman, a 30-year-old member of Arafat’s Fatah organization, , living in Nablus.

Thaman said Arafat is surrounding himself with bad advisors and has bowed too much to U.S. and Israeli pressure by agreeing to exile for the militants involved in the Church of the Nativity standoff. Those actions undermine the vigorous fight for a Palestinian state, he said.