(Yediot Ahronot-Hebrew) Diana Bahor-Nir - The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem has received reports from Egypt and Sweden on a change in attitude by the local media toward Arafat. The Israeli Embassy in Stockholm reported that in recent weeks a series of articles and commentaries have concluded that while revolutionary leaders such as Nelson Mandela in South Africa have succeeded in becoming statesmen, Arafat has not, and that he is blocking the development of a Palestinian state. One journalist wrote in Expressen: "Arafat is finished, I write this with joy." The Israeli Embassy in Egypt reported that the Egyptian media increased the tone of disparagement of Arafat over the weekend and gave prominence to Muhammad Dahlan's criticism of Arafat. A number of senior Egyptian commentators compared Arafat to Saddam Hussein, as someone who sought to benefit himself and not his people, and in the end lost everything.
2004-07-27 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive