Sharon accuses Arafat guards of terror attacks
Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has accused Yasser Arafat's bodyguards of carrying out terrorist attacks against his country.
He says it is not possible to hold peace talks with the Palestinian leader in the current climate of violence.
Sharon, who has been in office for less than a week, had been restrained and diplomatic when speaking of his long-time rival and had held out the possibility of an early meeting. But in an interview with the Fox News Channel, he was sharply critical of Arafat and said no talks were planned.
"Most of the terrorist acts at the present time are carried out by Palestinian armed forces, security services and even the forces closest to Arafat, that is, what you call Force 17, the presidential guard," Sharon claimed.
He said Arafat was in control of the Palestinian security forces and could also crack down on Palestinian militants if he wished. "But Arafat never took any preventative steps against the infrastructure of the terrorist organisations."
The comments came a day after Arafat told the Palestinian parliament he was ready to resume peace talks. However, he was also quoted in the Saudi Arabian newspaper Okaz as saying that the uprising, or intefadeh, would continue.
Arafat also reiterated the Palestinian demand that peace talks must start where they left off under the previous Israeli premier Ehud Barak.
The Palestinian leader's Fatah movement has distributed leaflets calling for national protest marches tomorrow.
The pamphlets state: "The criminal Sharon should learn from his predecessor Barak. In the end, Barak failed and the intefadeh remained."
