Israeli leaders play down Arafat assassination threats
Israeli leaders backed away from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s latest threats against Yasser Arafat, saying there are no immediate plans to kill the Palestinian leader.
Sharon declared in a television interview over the weekend that he is no longer bound by a promise to the United States not to harm Arafat.
The comments, which were criticised in Washington, Europe and the Arab world, raised speculation that Arafat might be in Israel’s sights.
In recent weeks, Israel has killed the founder of Hamas and his successor.
Sharon accuses Arafat of supporting terrorism. Under US pressure, however, he has refrained from attacking Arafat, instead confining him to a compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah for more than two years.
Arafat yesterday greeted 400 Palestinian schoolchildren at his headquarters. The students chanted anti-Sharon slogans and called for an end to Israel’s siege of the Palestinian leader.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Arafat said he was not afraid to die: “Our destiny is to be martyrs in this holy land.”
Nonetheless, Palestinian officials said Arafat was taking the threats seriously.
“We see these threats as real, and Arafat himself realises that,” said Hani al-Hassan, a senior official in Arafat’s Fatah movement.
Hassan said the group had decided to boost security around Arafat but gave no details.
Violence marred Israel’s annual remembrance for soldiers killed in war, as gunmen opened fire on a vehicle in the West Bank shortly after the observance began, killing an Israeli border policeman and wounding three others.
Israeli Army Radio said the paramilitary police were on patrol when they encountered three armed Palestinians, who opened fire.
The vehicle continued to the nearby Israeli checkpoint at Tarkumia. Soldiers searched the area.
“Even on the solemn evening when we remember Israel’s fallen, we received yet another vivid reminder of the total dedication of Palestinian terrorists striking at Israelis at every opportunity and in every place,” said David Baker, an official in Sharon’s office.
