Arafat given ultimatum over Bethlehem mass
Israel says it will only allow Yasser Arafat to attend Christmas Mass in Bethlehem if he arrests the assassins of an Israeli Cabinet minister today.
The Israeli military sent reinforcements to checkpoints ringing Mr Arafat's Ramallah base to prevent the Palestinian leader defying the ban.
Raanan Gissin, an adviser to the Prime Minister, says Israel will not allow Mr Arafat passage to Bethlehem unless he arrests the killers of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi.
Mr Gissin says Israel also wants Mr Arafat to arrest the two leaders of the group, Ahmed Saadat and Jihad Ghoulmi.
Mr Gissin says Saadat and Ghoulmi are behind plans for a new suicide attack in Haifa. Yesterday, Israeli police arrested two Palestinian suspects in Haifa, and said explosives were found in their hotel rooms.
"He will not be allowed freedom of movement," Mr Gissin said. "Both of them (Saadat and Ghoulmi), and the two killers (of Zeevi) are in Ramallah, and Mr Arafat knows exactly where they are. Yet he has not arrested them."
Mr Arafat says he is determined to make his annual pilgrimage to Bethlehem, and will walk, if necessary.
Mr Arafat has attended Midnight Mass in Bethlehem every year since 1995, when Israel withdrew from Bethlehem and other West Bank towns.
