TREMBLING, Yasser Arafat whipped out his gun and pointed it at the chief of his West Bank security services during an argument over the growing disorder among the Palestinians of the occupied territories.
One of his officials said the 72-year-old Palestinian leader was shaking so intensely that the semi-automatic German-made
machine-pistol, which he routinely carries, fell from his hand.
Some sources say he slapped the colonel - Jibril Rajoub, who has links with the CIA and is one of the of the most ruthless and powerful men in his inner circle - on the face, and had to be restrained by his frightened aides.
Others claim he repeatedly screamed: "You want to replace me!" International diplomats were last night scrutinising contradictory reports of this encounter to see whether it meant that Yasser Arafat is finally cracking up, after being trapped in his West Bank compound by Israeli tanks for more than two months as Palestinian institutions crumble around him.
Or was this another deliberate cameo from an accomplished showman, designed to con the outside world into believing that the pressure on him is reaching unacceptable levels, and must be eased?
- INDEPENDENT
