The Qaddoumi Affair

There's a new flap involving the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Al-Jazeera, and former high PLO figure Farouq Qaddoumi. The short version: Farouq Qaddoumi, one of the original leaders of the PLO and one who has refused to return to the Palestinian Authority, spoke to reporters in Amman and accused Abu Mazen (Mahmud ‘Abbas) of conspiring with Israelis and others to kill Yasir ‘Arafat.

Naturally, the Palestinian Authority reacted, denying and denouncing the story. Then they closed Al-Jazeera's West Bank bureau because the network reported the story. There are also reports of a rift between the PA and Jordan.

The Middle East has been rife with rumors about what killed ‘Arafat since the onset of his final illness, never clearly identified. So long as those rumors simply blamed Israel, they appeared in the Arab media with impunity. But accuse Abu Mazen — and the accusation seems wildly improbable, to say the least — is to cross a red line. But it was Qaddoumi who said it, not hte Jordanian government, and closing the Al-Jazeera offices is simply blaming the messenger, though by now they're used to that.