Politically, he had already been dead for the last two years. The former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was controlling the authority, as the second man in Al Fatah and Palestinian Liberation Organization's (PLO), and Ahmet Qurey, the former Speaker of the Parliament had taken over as Prime Minister. Arafat insisted on keeping a series of authorities, from intelligence to security, but since he was left isolated without the connections to conduct communication and bureaucratic links, feudal leaders emerged in Gaza and on the West Bank. Perhaps it was for this reason, though unwillingly, he had to re-assign Gibril Racul, the only person who could control security forces in the West Bank and whom he had once excommunicated.
From the perspective of Israeli-Palestinian relations, Arafat should have handed over power long ago. Abbas had to resign because of his demands for the transfer of power. Arafat's death was necessary for Palestinian democracy to move forward, and such a transfer of power is a healthy step.
In the post-Arafat period, his "Tunisian Gang" retain their ambitions for leadership. His opponents used the term for Arafat and his entourage who immigrated to Tunisia after the 1982 South Lebanon siege and who claimed the processes of Oslo and Intifada in 1987. Without Arafat, the Tunisian gang will become more important. The three strong men, Qurey, Abbas and Faruq Qaddumi were not just with Arafat in Tunisia, but have been alongside him since 1957 when he was beginning his organization in Kuwait. These three are all at 70 and have never recognized the popularity of Mohammed Dahlan and Marwan Barghuti on the Palestine streets.
Qurey, Abbas and Qaddumi are all Palestinian businessmen who have used the Palestinian cause for their own benefit and they will make people miss Arafat as a "man of cause". Abbas is known to be an appeaser and is allegedly a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent. When the reality hits that Hamas has the real power in the Palestinian streets and Khalid Mashalt, Leader of Hamas' Political Wing, fights against Israel and its collaborators for poisoning Arafat and the reality of Al Fatah's failure to integrate opposing views will have disastrous consequences for Palestine's future.
If Arafat's power is handed directly to the Abbas-Qurey-Qaddumi trio, Palestine will be plunged back into its difficult days for the next few years. The only leader in Palestine, who could be approved with support throughout Palestine, and still have a chance to sustain talks with Israel, is Marwan Barghuti. He is now in an Israeli prison serving five life-sentences. This puts the ball firmly in Israel's court for the future of Palestine and Israeli-Palestinian relations.
