Arafat is going to France for treatment of what may be leukaeimia
Why not? The French will make him more than welcome.
The French presidency has sent a plane to bring him to France.
President Jacques Chirac wrote a get well note saying: "France, as you know, holds to the hope that you will be present in the flesh at the creation, by the side of a State of Israel whose safety is assured, of a viable, prosperous, and peaceful Palestinian State." He added, "[France] will always remain close to you in the search for a just and lasting solution to the Middle East Conflict."[my translation; links in French]
In January 1997, on the occasion of his sixth visit in the first two years after Chirac was elected, the godfather of terrorism declared that whenever he has a problem, he goes to see "le docteur Chirac".
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier added his wishes while declaring that France will be always on the side of the Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat.
France, as I told you (Arafat) in Ramallah on June 30, will be always on your side to back your effort in favor of a just and negotiated peace.
It is with concern and sympathy that I keep informed of the development of your health.
I wish to express my most sincere wishes for your recovery, hoping that you can return rapidly to your place to lead the Palestinian Authority.
France wonders why it cannot have more influence with the Israelis.
In June, Barnier cancelled a visit to Israel rather than give up visiting Arafat. France is one of the last countries in the EU whose officials continue to visit Arafat.
Earlier this month, Barnier finally visited Israel and said that Europe is seeking to become a diplomatic giant, in the same way that it has already become an economic giant. I thought it was sarcasm, actually, or gallic irony. I did not laugh when, on 19 October, he declared, "Nothing will be done without or against Arafat."
It was France who acted to save Arafat in the summer of 1982, after Israel invaded Lebanon in an attempt to save it from Arafat's terrorists and Syria's invading army. On the orders of then president François Mitterrand, French sodliers evacuated Arafat and protected him as he made his way from Beirut to Athens, and then to Tunisia.
I do not like reading the French newspapers. I always feel an urge to wash my brain out with soap, afterwards.
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