Two short commentaries published in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Watan refer to Arafat as a leader whose role in the history of his people should come to an end. The following are excerpts from the articles
"Arafat Has No Choice But Suicide or Resignation"
Columnist Zayd bin Ghayam wrote, "The vanquished Palestinian people are subjected to various forms of abuse and molestation which begin physically and end mentally, bringing them pain and suffering. The Palestinian president enjoys good health and plays the role required of him in the drama that has been directed by the Zionists for the last 34 years since Arafat rose to the top of the pyramid in the Fatah movement."
"I will not… do what other colleagues have done to expose this legendary figure… My question is: Why doesn't Arafat come out in public and in front of the world's TV cameras to, at the very least, announce his resignation? If he is serious in his struggle to place the Jews in a quandary and [to] have the world sympathize with him more and more, and to distance his people from the calamities of destruction which have befallen them because of his [Arafat's] agreements and concessions…, why does he not carry the weapon to fulfill his [declared] wish… to die as a martyr?! He has repeated this wish often to prove to the world that he is a resistance fighter in the fullest sense of the word. [Why does he not do this] instead of firing statements with revolutionary slogans that bring death to those around him - that, indeed, push those around him toward [death]."
"Why does he not draw lessons from history? He would discover that one American Indian chief, having failed to challenge the white 'Americans' when they invaded his land, swallowed poison and died to preserve his dignity and, at the same time, to protect his people from total destruction. He would find many examples of the tragic ends of true leaders who were unwilling to accept humiliation and who, at the same time, felt guilty for the tragedies they brought upon their people."
"Arafat has no choice but suicide or resignation. Otherwise, the play will continue indefinitely, for the Israelis won't kill him because he is a part of their strategy which calls for him to preside over the summit of the destruction of the Palestinian people."
"Martyr, martyr, martyr, martyr
Stupid scenes in a play
The destruction of a people, little by little
To the last child and the last old woman
And the sergeant will stand stubborn at the Saraya [government building]
Ushering death to his people as he pleases."[1]
Editorial: Arafat is a Traitor
"Ever since the Israeli forces with their tanks and soldiers laid siege to the Palestinian refugee camps in order to liquidate Palestinian activists, particularly Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam, they have surrounded Arafat in his quarters to mislead the world [into believing] that the leader is in danger and should be neutralized while, at the same time, allowing him to appear as a steadfast leader facing Israeli occupation."
"We see many scenes unfold in this show. We laugh incessantly at the second scene in which Arafat appears in sound but not in picture, repeating through the world's radios and televisions: 'They want to take me as a prisoner or as a dead man and I say, No! [You only take me as a] martyr, martyr martyr.'"
"And the blood of the honest among his people flows in Jenin, Nablus, and Ramallah and, and, and…!!"
"The show finishes and the siege on Arafat is lifted and he appears on the stage hoisting his famous insignia which at the end of every conspiracy carried out by this traitor, he presents on a golden tray to the Israelis and afterwards to the father of treasons and the destroyer of the nation's unity and the incessant striver towards its division, [none] other than the dictator Saddam Hussein." [2]
[1] Al-Watan (Kuwait), May 10, 2002.
[2] Al-Watan (Kuwait), Editorial, May 10, 2002.
