As Heir of Arafat, Abbas Stays Out of His Footsteps

The mountains of wrecked cars and rubble have been scooped up and hauled away. Gone, too, is the half-ruined wing of a building that served as a hide-out for Palestinian gunmen. In their place, a new governmental complex is taking shape.

The overhaul of the battle-scarred compound where Yasser Arafat spent his final years, confined by Israel, is perhaps the most obvious sign of the contrasts in leadership style between the new Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the iconic guerrilla leader who preceded him.

For Arafat, the debris carried propaganda value as an emblem of Israel’s military actions while acting as a crude barrier against further incursions. For Abbas, the cleanup symbolizes a break from the past and a new governing ethic.

More than six months after Arafat’s death, Abbas is seeking to create a greater sense of order in the Palestinian government, with limited success. Dressed in his somber suits, Abbas remains a staid and somewhat aloof counterpoint to the charismatic Arafat, who preferred a checkered head scarf and khaki military-style jacket.

As heir to Arafat’s Fatah organization, Abbas was elected Palestinian Authority president in January. Since then, he has worked cautiously to reform the often chaotic Palestinian bureaucracy, hobbled by corruption and years of one-man rule and conflict with Israel.

Under pressure from European leaders and President Bush, who will meet with Abbas in Washington on Thursday, the Palestinian leader reorganized the security forces by gathering a dozen overlapping police agencies into three and placing them under a new interior minister. He has ordered more than 1,000 senior officers to retire to bring in new blood, while overseeing final plans to restructure the civil service system.

No Patron-in-Chief

Abbas has veered from Arafat’s practices in other ways. Arafat used to answer personal pleas for help -- such as requests for jobs or help paying hospital bills -- by leaving written responses at a pickup window at the compound. Abbas has refused the role of patron-in-chief, making it clear such requests are to go through government channels.

Abbas “is different in his political approach. He looks at it a lot more as a state than a revolution,” said Muhannad Abdel Hamid, who writes a column in the Al Ayyam newspaper in Ramallah. “He is not repeating Arafat’s mistakes. He’s trying to avoid them.”

Fatah members accustomed to drifting freely into Arafat’s quarters find Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, relatively inaccessible. “People are wondering -- even Fatah people -- how can we see Abu Mazen?” said Ahmed Deek, a Fatah member of the Palestinian Legislature.

Abbas also remains an enigma to most Palestinians. He had a negligible public following when, as the No. 2 figure in the Palestine Liberation Organization, he emerged as the consensus candidate for the presidency after Arafat died.

Since his election, Abbas has traveled widely, most recently to South America and Asia. But he has kept a low profile at home, making few media appearances and sticking close to his Ramallah headquarters. His moves have been careful and nonconfrontational -- some say timid -- as he navigates a landscape filled with promise and risk.

“Abu Mazen is the type of guy who bases his decision-making on consultations and institutions,” said Manuel Hassassian, a political scientist who is executive vice president of Bethlehem University. “He likes to institutionalize his decisions rather than rely on style and charisma.”

How long Abbas will remain in office has become something of a guessing game among Palestinians and Israelis alike.

When Abbas ran, many observers questioned whether he had the stomach for the rigors of leadership. In 2003, Abbas resigned as prime minister after just four months in office, citing differences with Arafat and a lack of progress with Israel.

Palestinians carry high hopes for change, including more transparency in their government and relief from Israeli-imposed travel restrictions that have choked commerce. But it is unclear how long they will wait.

Abbas is also facing an impatient Israel, which wants him to rein in militants by arresting them and seizing weapons. So far, he has chosen to tread lightly, persuading the main groups to agree this year to a cease-fire.

His dealings with militant groups have become more delicate as Hamas, whose military wing has carried out dozens of bombings and other attacks against Israel, has made strong showings in three rounds of municipal elections since December. The Islamic group, which runs with a broad network of social services and garners strong grass-roots support, has emerged as Fatah’s toughest challenger in the July 17 parliamentary elections.

Some Fatah members would like to postpone the vote out of fear that Hamas’ electoral momentum will boost it to a legislative majority. Analysts say Abbas’ party will probably fare better after Israel’s planned mid-August pullout from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank, an action he could claim as a solid gain in his dealings with the Israelis.

Abbas has said he plans to stick with the July date, but continued wrangling over a new election law all but assures postponement. The Palestinian Central Election Commission said Monday that it would need at least two months from the passage of a new voting law to prepare for balloting.

Public Satisfied

Right now, Palestinians appear generally pleased with Abbas’ performance. In a poll released early this month by the Jerusalem Media & Communication Center, 59% of Palestinian respondents expressed some satisfaction.

A separate survey by the Development Studies Programme at Birzeit University in Ramallah found that Palestinians gave high marks to Abbas’ efforts to reform security agencies, improve conditions for women and bolster democracy.

But the issues most crucial to Palestinians -- the removal of Israeli soldiers and checkpoints and improved economic prospects -- rest mainly in Israel’s hands, the survey found. Palestinians appear to have limited expectations that Abbas can achieve a breakthrough in those areas soon, said Nader Izzat Said, director of the Birzeit poll.

Abbas has accused Israel of not keeping promises made at a February summit in Egypt, such as ceding security control of five West Bank towns to Palestinian forces and releasing 900 Palestinian prisoners. Israel says it will resume handing over security control once Palestinian officials act more forcefully against militants.

Some Palestinian commentators say Israel is trying to undermine Abbas to avoid negotiations over the barrier it is building in and around the West Bank and over the growth of Jewish settlements there.

“If Israel wanted to give Mahmoud Abbas credibility and legitimacy with the Palestinian people and against Hamas, this is the time. They’re not doing it,” said Hassassian of Bethlehem University.

In recent days, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agreed, if his Cabinet approves the actions, to release the last of the 900 prisoners and carry out other conciliatory moves promised at the Egypt summit, Israeli media reported.

But Israeli officials say Abbas has acted too tentatively on security, telegraphing weakness to those who would challenge his authority and renew violence against Israel. Sharon and others belittle the Abbas-engineered cease-fire as fragile and inadequate, though it has produced weeks of relative calm.

“He should command the authority,” said one senior Israeli official who agreed to assess Abbas’ leadership style on the condition of anonymity. “He is not felt. He should be felt.”

On that point, many Palestinian experts agree, lamenting that Abbas has squandered political capital he gained with his election by staying largely behind closed doors. While institution-building may be needed, some fear such changes won’t improve the daily lives of Palestinians before they lose patience with Abbas.

“He has to be more directed, to give more time to the Palestinians to convince them that these reforms are not only relevant but done on their behalf and for their sake,” Said argued. “It’s not going to be easy for him.”