Israel debated assassinating Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon admitted, quoted on Monday by the Israeli media.
”The question of why we didn’t kill Arafat is worth a discussion,” the daily Haaretz quoted the army chief as telling a conference of the Beersheva chamber of commerce on Sunday.
”There were discussions about it in the past, but after weighing up the gains and benefits… we rejected the idea outright,” Yaalon added.
Israel holds Arafat directly responsible for the almost 33-month-old cycle of violence, accusing the veteran leader of abetting attacks by militant groups, including the hard line Islamic movement Hamas.
Arafat has been holed up in his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah for a year and a half. After being besieged several times by the army, he is now allowed to leave his battered office but has no guarantees he would allowed back in.
The hard line wing of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government advocates deporting Arafat, who has been sidelined by Israel and the United States and forced to share power with Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas since late April. – Sapa-AFP