ARAFAT VISITS RABIN'S WIDOW

"This was significant," says Barnes of Yasser Arafat's being whisked into Tel Aviv Thursday night to express his condolences to Leah Rabin in person. It was the PLO chairman's first known visit to Israel. And after having been advised to stay away from Rabin's funeral by Israeli officials for security reasons -- a warning he interpeted as a snub -- Arafat's late-night meeting was even more remarkable. "The most significant thing was that he took his kaffer [Arab headdress] off. That was his trademark; he was never seen without it. The gesture made the meeting even more poignant. He won a lot of points for that. In fact, a new poll says that the Labor has picked up 31 percent in the last week. That means that a lot of people who were sitting in the middle on the peace process are now committed to it. And this visit will definitely move that forward."