West Bank
A 10-day Israeli siege of Yasser Arafat’s headquarters ended this week with a boost to the Palestinian leader’s popularity. Before the siege, Arafat had been fighting off harsh criticism from the Palestinian legislative council, which charged that his new, supposedly reformed Cabinet was packed with his corrupt cronies. But as shells rained on the Ramallah compound, Palestinians grew more sympathetic to Arafat. A poll taken after the siege was lifted showed increased support for Arafat’s leadership, and he is now expected to win the presidential election in January. “We did not assess the situation correctly,” said Israeli Cabinet Minister Natan Sharansky.
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