Where does the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) stand today?
Having backed the wrong horse, Yasir ‘Arafat lost his funding from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and all the other Arab members of the anti-Iraq alliance. (To rub salt in the wound, he also lost the $50 million or so he used to get annually from Iraq.) Making matters worse, Kuwait was the Palestinians’ El Dorado, and they almost completely lost their considerable wealth in that country. It’s also safe to say that misalliance with Saddam cost the PLO its number two figure, Salah Khalaf (also known as Abu Iyad) through assassination. Khalaf was the inside man, the one who ran the organization while ‘Arafat presented its public face. He was very talented and he will be sorely missed. An Israeli once told me that Khalaf was the only Palestinian leader he wished was working on Israel’s side, and he’s probably got a point. If the PLO is as weak as you say, why do the residents of the West Bank and Gaza insist on getting its agreement before taking any steps on their own? They are being cautious. The
