During Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's medical checkups and treatment in Paris, no Palestinian officials dare to replace him, even temporarily. Arafat, 75, chairs the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the Fatah Movement's central committee and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Arafat has become a symbol for the Palestinians' struggle for a statehood over the last four decades.  

He has collected so much power in his hands and many issues could not be settled without his approval and no one could make decisions without consulting him.

When Mahmoud Abbas, PLO's No. 2, presided a PLO meeting on Saturday, the first time that anyone but Arafat has headed up a meeting of the governing body since 1967, he intentionally shunned the seat of Arafat right in the middle.

"No one dares to take his place as long as he is still alive. He is our president. No one would be able to take his place," said Jamal Azziz, a taxi driver in Gaza.

If any official behaved as if he was replacing Arafat, he might be in trouble and lose supporters for not showing loyalty to Arafat during his illness, he added.

Mohamed Dahlan, former minister of interior security, who was believed to be one vocal opponent to Arafat in the last couple of years, accompanied Arafat to Paris. 　

The Islamic and national factions also acted as observers at this sensitive moment, watching the situation without being involved in any action or making any statement that would be interpreted as a takeover.

The situation in the Palestinian territories during Arafat's absence was ambiguous and confusing, where everyone preferred to keep silent and make no comments until the picture became clear. There are two possible scenarios -- Arafat returns to Ramallah or Gaza after recovery or Arafat may not come back, either he passes away or leads a retired life in exile.

Palestinian analysts expressed doubts that the aged man in poor health would be able to lead the PNA and PLO again as he used to do over the past 37 years.

(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2004)