ONE of Yassir Arafat’s top security advisers has advised Israel to abandon hopes of a more pliable Palestinian leadership emerging from the crisis brought on by his ill-health.

Jibril Rajoub, a key figure in speculation over who will succeed the 75-year-old head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), said that, contrary to international perceptions, Mr Arafat’s unrivalled influence within Palestinian society meant that he remained the Jewish state’s best hope of clinching a peace deal.

“I think the only one who can deliver security and the only one who can sign a final status agreement with Israel is Yassir Arafat,” Mr Rajoub, 51, told The Times. “The Israelis will never have security while there is still occupation, settlements and aggressions. If Mr Sharon does recharge his mental batteries and reconsider his policies, we will meet him in the middle of the road. But he will never find anyone on the Palestinian side who could deliver security without a political vision. He will wait forever. Security is contingent on the process of making peace.”

With no single figure matching the iconic status of Mr Arafat, a number of alliances are being mooted, one of them between between Mr Rajoub and Marwan Barghouti, the imprisoned West Bank firebrand sentenced by an Israeli court to five consecutive life sentences and an additional 40 years.

Mr Rajoub, though, remains the single most powerful security chief in the West Bank and, like all senior Palestinians, he maintains that Abu Ammar — Mr Arafat’s nom de guerre — remains the unchallenged figurehead. “Abu Ammar is the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people and the successor of Abu Ammar is the institutions,” Mr Rajoub said at his headquarters in Ramallah.

Although the gravity and nature of Mr Arafat’s ailment remain unclear, there are many in Ramallah already jostling for position on the starting line, even while denying that there is a succession race.

Should Mr Arafat be incapacitated, Mahmoud Abbas, his Fatah co-founder and Secretary-General of the PLO, is expected to take over. However, Mr Abbas has little charisma, no public support in his own right and is viewed with scepticism by his own people because his moderation makes him more acceptable to Israel.

Many predict that he will link up with Mohammad Dahlan, the ambitious former Gaza security chief, thereby giving him a power base within the security forces and greater credibility.

Scrupulously careful to remain loyal, Mr Rajoub nevertheless sent out a message that he is ready to align himself with the popular and resourceful Barghouti. “Marwan Barghouti was my colleague and close friend since I was in jail more than 25 years ago,” he said. “We worked together in exile and after the Oslo Agreements. I think that Marwan was one of the most pragmatic of Palestinian leaders and I still see him as one of the most important Palestinian leaders in the future. I am pretty sure he is converted more than anyone else to the idea of two states for two people as a final status settlement and I do see myself with Marwan in the same boat.”

The obvious obstacle to Barghouti’s involvement is that he remains behind bars. His release would be controversial in Israel, where he was portrayed as a terrorist mastermind throughout a long and prominent trial. But some Israelis view him as a potential future Palestinian leader and, privately, officials do not rule out the prospect of him being included in any future deal.

Israel, however, rejected Mr Rajoub’s words yesterday and called for action from him and other Palestinian security leaders to stop suicide bombers, such as the 16-year-old from Nablus who killed three Israelis in Tel Aviv on Monday.

Citing the proposal by Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, to withdraw settlers from Gaza, David Saranga, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official, said: “The disengagement plan is proof of our intention to go forward with the peace process . . . but we still want to see on the Palestinian side real steps in order to combat terror.”

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