Palestinians pledge vote to replace Arafat

Yasser Arafat's successors promised a swift election to replace him yesterday as Palestinians flocked to his tomb to pay last respects to the former guerrilla who symbolised their hopes of a state.

Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie said a presidential poll would be held by January 9, within the 60 days set by law. Little-known parliament speaker Rawhi Fattouh is acting president.

"Now our biggest concern is to hold elections," said Nabil Abu Rdainah, who was one of Arafat's main aides. "The international community, especially the United States, should exert pressure on Israel to withdraw its forces and not to enter Palestinian cities, to stop its aggression so that we can proceed with the preparations."

There have been no elections since 1996. Arafat said they were impossible because of Israeli attacks and closures.

US President George W. Bush said on Friday he wanted to see a Palestinian state by the end of his second four-year term, pointing to elections as a key step.

Israel says Arafat's death could be a turning point in Middle East peace efforts but will resume talks only if a new leader proves more willing and capable of reining in militants.

Powerful ex-security chief Mohammad Dahlan, seen as a possible successor to Yasser Arafat, said there would be no power struggle in Arafat's wake because Palestinian leaders were committed to a calm transition.

Fears of trouble after Arafat's death have been stoked by the fact that he left no clear successor. His powers have been taken over - at least for now - by old comrades from his decades-long fight for a state.

Dahlan, 43, from a younger generation of leaders demanding reforms to security forces and anti-corruption measures from the Palestinian Authority, was seen as a likely player in any tussle for control.

"Forget the power struggle. There will be complete co-operation," Dahlan told Reuters in an interview yesterday. "I promise that this period will pass peacefully, with understanding, with stability and with real partnership by all."

Dahlan holds no official post, but he remains an important force in the Gaza Strip, which has been beset by factional squabbling ahead of a planned Israeli pullout from the occupied territory next year.

Dahlan was one of the few Palestinian leaders to openly challenge the autocratic style of Arafat, who was buried in the West Bank on Friday after being declared dead in a French hospital the day before. But Dahlan made up with Arafat before he died and flew to Paris to be near the ailing leader.

He said all the key Palestinian decision makers had agreed when Arafat fell sick that they would avoid infighting.

"Instead of fighting, we showed the world the civilised face of the Palestinians. We strengthened our partnership and implemented the law for a smooth and calm transition. This will be complimented with holding elections," he said.

Arafat, 75, was buried in Ramallah on Friday at the compound where he was penned in by Israeli forces during his final years, accused of fomenting violence in an uprising that began after peace talks collapsed in 2000. He denied the charge.

His body arrived in the West Bank from the Paris hospital where he died, via a funeral in Cairo among kings and presidents of the Arab world, to chaotic scenes of grief and gunfire.

By yesterday, the tree-shaded tomb had become a pilgrimage site of quiet mourning. Some laid olive branches, some the red, white, green and black Palestinian flag and some the black-and-white keffiyeh headdress that Arafat made his trademark.

Thousands of Israeli Arabs marched in a symbolic funeral procession for Arafat in the northern town of Nazareth yesterday, in a show of solidarity with their Palestinian brethren in the West Bank and Gaza, occupied by Israel in 1967.

"We are part of the Palestinian people and we share in the grief," said Nazareth Mayor Ramez.

For Palestinians, Arafat symbolised dreams of statehood. For many Israelis, he was a terrorist. Arafat left no clear successor and his powers have been shared among several veterans, stirring fears of a possible leadership struggle in Palestinian territories brimming with gunmen and a plethora of security forces.

The most important figure in the new leadership is former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, 69, a moderate who has criticised violence and is now chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, but he has little popular following.

Some influential Palestinians suggested one candidate to replace Arafat could be Marwan Barghouthi, 45, who is serving an Israeli jail sentence for orchestrating murders. He is a fiery orator seen as the grassroots leader of the uprising.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana promised European help during a visit to Ramallah but said: "You have to have a situation on the ground that is better so that elections can take place."

For Palestinians that means a pullback of Israeli forces, but Israel says its closures aim only to stop attacks. Palestinians want a state long before Bush's new term expires and note the stalled "road map" peace plan that he had backed envisaged it by 2005.

Bush supports an Israeli plan to withdraw from Gaza, but Palestinians fear the initiative will deny them the viable state they want, and supplant the road map.