Who Will Inherit the Palestinian Authority in the Post-Arafat Era?
There is no question that there is a crisis of leadership in the Palestinian political system as it approaches the post-Arafat era. The struggle for succession has already begun, even while Yassir Arafat still controls the Palestinian Authority from Ramallah. Some in the international community foresee a new generation of Fatah leaders, some of whom have been involved in recent back-channel peace initiatives, coming forward and replacing the old revolutionary guard that established the PLO in the 1960s. Yet there is growing evidence that Fatah may not remain the power center of Palestinian politics. From current indications it appears that Hamas is preparing itself to inherit the Palestinian Authority. Any scenario projected for the future that does not take this into account will be seriously flawed. At the Herzliya conference in December 2003, a team of researchers and security personnel (former and current), lead by Dr. Shmuel Bar, presented a special report analyzing the political
