August 18, 2004
By Mohammed Assadi
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Yasser Arafat acknowledged Wednesday that he could have made mistakes in his strongest comments since a wave of Palestinian turmoil over demands for anti-corruption reforms.
Arafat has only rarely admitted being at fault and not since unrest blew up last month in the greatest internal challenge to his authority since returning from exile a decade ago.
"There is nobody immune from mistakes, starting from me on down. Even prophets committed mistakes," Arafat said at his West Bank compound in his first speech to lawmakers since the troubles began.
Gunmen demanding changes to security forces and the sacking of corrupt leaders kidnapped Palestinian officials and foreigners in Gaza, burned government buildings and clashed with security forces last month.
Arafat, still seen by Palestinians as a symbol of the struggle for statehood, was not targeted personally by the protesters or accused of corruption himself.
"There were wrong actions ... by some institutions, and some were irresponsible and misused their positions," the veteran Palestinian leader said. "We need to move together to correct and reform all the mistakes."
But Arafat made no specific promises.
Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said he hoped Arafat's words would quickly be translated into action.
"That is the most significant thing the Palestinian people want. They want reforms, they want accountability, they want transparency," he told CNN.
The unrest partly reflects a power struggle between Arafat's old guard and a younger generation of leadership jockeying for position ahead of Israel's plan to pull troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip next year.
But Arafat placed blame for the chaos squarely on Israel, saying the Jewish state had created a security vacuum.
"This vacuum, which was made by the occupiers, aimed at creating a state of security chaos and unrest in the absence of the rule of law," he said.
"The occupation is mainly responsible for this situation. It should not drag us away from doing what we can to end it."
A senior Hamas leader survived an Israeli assassination attempt in the Gaza Strip Wednesday but at least five other Palestinians were killed in the explosion that tore through his home.
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