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Source: http://www.idf.il/newsite/english/0115-2.stm
IDF: "Reforms in the Palestinian Authority - A Deception"
(IDF) - According to an internal briefing by a high-ranking official in Israeli military intelligence, the reform process under consideration by the Palestinian Authority is not authentic. Arafat has endeavored to contain the process of reform, to thwart unwanted proceedings, and to set the pace as he desired. He made changes influencing only the very fringe of his control, trying to "buy time" in order to curb calls for real change that might significantly hinder his stature as the Palestinian decision-maker. Arafat is presently engaged in removing the international pressure to make administrative changes in the Palestinian Authority, including appointing a fully empowered prime minister. The prime-ministerial office described in the draft constitution will only become valid in the future after the establishment of a Palestinian state. Arafat displays a positive attitude regarding the "road map" and the reforms it implicates. However, he channels these reforms in directions that are of no threat to his personal position, and is in fact unwilling to concede to the primary demand that is the very foundation of the "road map," which is his withdrawal from the center of Palestinian decision-making. The completion of the draft constitution for the future Palestinian state on the night of the London Conference, which discusses reforms in facets that do not obligate immediate implementation, was intended to conceal the lack of genuine and sincere action on the Palestinian side in other facets of the reform. Arafat maintains exclusive control over the Palestinian security apparatuses. No genuine change has occurred in the manner in which the security apparatuses act. The new Minister of Internal Affairs Hani Alhasan's recent moves do not involve clear actions against terror factors in the Gaza Strip, but are rather attempts to reach understandings and agreements. Minister of Finance Salam Fayad has taken a number of positive steps that restrain Arafat's control of the Palestinian Authority budget. Yet he has not been successful in preventing Arafat's involvement and control over a large portion of the assets that Arafat himself owns.