US embassy cable - 04JERUSALEM4306

C O N F I D E N T I A L  JERUSALEM 004306 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PINS, KWBG, FR 
SUBJECT: ABD RABBO:  LIFE AND DEATH WITH SUHA -- STRANGER 
THAN FICTION 
 
Classified By: Consul General David D. Pearce. 
Reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  PLO ExCom member Yasir Abd Rabbo told DPO 
November 9 that Suha Arafat's undignified rant on al-Jazeera 
in which she accused the Palestinian leadership of conspiring 
against her husband had found no resonance among Palestinians 
in the West Bank and Gaza.  Instead, her behavior had made 
her even more unpopular than before.  He supported the 
decision by Abu Mazen and Abu Ala'a to go to Paris to see for 
themselves Arafat's condition even if it meant that they 
would then probably be faced with a very difficult decision. 
Observing that Fatah Central Committee (FCC) member (and heir 
to Arafat's chairmanship of the Central Committee) Faruq 
al-Qaddumi was showing signs of senility, Abd Rabbo dismissed 
Qaddumi's reported plan to engineer for himself the 
chairmanship of the PLO executive committee and to move the 
PLO back to Tunis so that he could lead from exile.  Any 
suggestion of support for Qaddumi among FCC members, he 
claimed, was intended to make Abu Mazen pay a higher price 
for Fatah unanimity.  End Summary 
 
 
SUHA'S RANT FINDS NO RESONANCE 
 
2.  (C) During a November 9 meeting, Geneva Initiative 
sponsor and PLO executive committee member Yasir Abd Rabbo 
told DPO that most Palestinians were aghast at Suha Arafat's 
outburst on al-Jazeera satellite television the previous day 
and that the episode has only added to her unpopularity in 
the West Bank and Gaza.  Suha, he said, had always been 
excitable but her behavior in recent days had become "crazy." 
 Aside from the absurdity of her closing her al-Jazeera rant 
with cries of "Allahu Akbar!" her accusations against the 
Palestinian leadership were irresponsible and probably 
prompted by a coterie of advisors that includes her Lebanese 
paramour Pierre Rizk and several French lawyers.  Her 
conspiracy accusations had found no resonance among 
Palestinians in the West Bank/Gaza, Abd Rabbo said; and her 
undignified behavior has reached a point where it is 
beginning to tarnish Arafat's own legacy.  He fully supported 
the decision by Abu Mazen, Abu Ala'a, and others to go to 
Paris to demand a full report of Arafat's condition.  Noting 
that they may also have to participate in making a difficult 
decision, Abd Rabbo said it still had to be done. 
 
 
SUHA TAKES A STAB AT KING-MAKING 
 
3.  (C)  Appearing to fully appreciate the outlandishness of 
events in Paris, Abd Rabbo said that Suha had gradually and 
methodically eliminated access to Arafat by all those who had 
gone to Paris to wait by his bedside.  Arafat's closest male 
relative (except for his brother Fathi, also rumored to be on 
his deathbed) Nasir Al-Kidwa, had not seen Arafat for four or 
five days, Abd Rabbo said.  Suha's stranglehold on 
information had proven to be too much for the leaders in 
Ramallah who are trying to ensure a smooth transition; Abd 
Rabbo predicted that the French would no longer "play Suha's 
game" and would allow Abu Mazen and Abu Ala'a access even 
over Suha's objections (Note:  Abd Rabbo was proved right. 
End Note)  In addition to isolating Arafat, Suha had also, 
rather maladroitly, attempted to intervene in the 
Palestinians' succession arrangements by anointing Faruq 
al-Qaddumi in a rather bizarre turn of events.  According to 
Abd Rabbo, Qaddumi had arrived in Paris only to be kept out 
of Arafat's room like everyone else.  He became angry and 
left for the airport only to receive en route a call from 
Suha in which she reportedly told him that Arafat had spoken 
and said, "He says you are his caliph (successor)."  This was 
enough to make Qaddumi turn around, return to the hospital 
and read out to the media a statement written by Suha which 
was so implausibly optimistic about Arafat's prospects for 
recovery that it was immediately deemed incredible. 
 
 
QADDUMI LOOKING TO TAKE THE PLO BACK TO TUNIS 
 
4.  (C) If that foolishness were not enough, Abd Rabbo went 
on to relate Qaddumi's ambitions to eventually supplant Abu 
Mazen as PLO executive committee (ExCom) chairman after he 
assumes the role on Arafat's passing.  Qaddumi's plan is to 
use his accessing to the Fatah Central Committee (FCC) 
chairmanship to load the ExCom in his favor.  He would then 
move the PLO back to Tunis to lead from exile, leaving the 
Palestinian Authority (PA) to govern in the West Bank and 
Gaza.  (Comment:  Not clear if anybody has asked the 
Tunisians for their views.  End Comment) Abd Rabbo noted in 
relating this plan that he has also heard that Qaddumi is 
showing signs of senility.  Certain FCC members, however, are 
supporting or pretending to support Qaddumi's pretensions; 
among them are Saqer Habash, Hani al-Hasan, and Abbas Zaki. 
Asked if they could seriously be supporting Qaddumi, Abd 
Rabbo opined that they in fact want to make Abu Mazen pay a 
higher price for their support and FCC unanimity in the 
transition period. 
 
 
THE POISON THEORY:  ARAFAT'S PENCHANT FOR SELF-MEDICATION TO 
BLAME? 
 
5. (C) Asked how credible he found the theory of poison being 
the cause of Arafat's illness, Abd Rabbo indicated that it is 
the prevailing explanation in Palestinian leadership circles. 
 He noted, however, that the delivery mechanism is still 
unexplained but he offered two theories:  1)  Arafat had 
always considered himself to be an expert on everything, 
including medicine, and had taken prescription drugs 
virtually indiscriminately; in fact, he had a suitcase full 
of drugs and popped pills constantly; or 2) Arafat's symptoms 
seem to resemble the condition that affected PFLP terrorist 
Wadi' Haddad who was reportedly poisoned by the Iraqis with a 
glass of tea.  All speculation aside, Abd Rabbo hoped that 
the French would ultimately provide a credible cause of 
Arafat's illness.  He also commented that he thought the 
French had learned a lesson after they allowed George Habash 
to seek medical treatment in France.  "Now," he said, "they 
won't let a Palestinian at the airport ask for an aspirin 
without immediately deporting him!" 
 
6.  (C)  Comment:  Abd Rabbo always enjoys relating the 
inside story and Suha's doings provided him with material of 
an unusually rare quality, even given the Palestinians' 
generally high standard of eccentric behavior.  But, he was 
also clearly relieved that Suha seemed to be on the way to 
being declawed and that Abu Mazen and Abu Ala'a were finally 
taking charge of Arafat's medical condition.  Although Abd 
Rabbo is among the most liberal of Palestinians, even he was 
shocked by Suha's behavior both in Paris and during her brief 
stay in Ramallah when she arrived only to take Arafat back 
with her to France.  Noting that Suha has been on the outs 
with her famous mother Raymonda Tawil for two years, Abd 
Rabbo related that when Raymonda came to the Muqatta'a to 
greet Suha that day, Suha failed to stand to greet her own 
mother.  Abd Rabbo's shock, he said, was shared by the rest 
of the Palestinian leadership present to witness the event. 
Suha, called by some a "rapacious harpy," has certainly set 
the seal on her deep unpopularity in the last week. 
 
 
PEARCE