Senior Palestinians told Israel on Monday that its threat to assassinate Yasser Arafat was a serious mistake after Washington also warned against any move to ”remove” the veteran leader.
”We are not taking these threats lightly,” said Mohammed Dahlan, Security Minister in outgoing Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas’s government.
Israel was waiting for the right moment to assassinate Arafat, Dahlan added, calling such a move a ”grave error”.
”Israel is not stupid and knows that carrying out an attack against President Arafat or his expulsion would open the door to a bloody conflict and destroy any chance of relaunching the peace process,” he said.
Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath also denounced the Israeli threats as ”criminal, insolent and stupid”.
”Israel would have to face its responsibilities in front of the world as a state of gangsters and not as a real constitutional state,” Shaath said.
Ehud Olmert, who is Industry Minister and number two in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government, said that the assassination of Arafat would be considered to put a halt to the killing of innocent civilians.
”From a fundamental, moral point of view, I want to put this question to every man of conscience,” Olmert told CNN late on Sunday.
”How many more civilians must be killed … before someone will come and say, ‘Hey, let’s stop the man who has been responsible for all of this?’
”It’s well-known that he is the head of a terrorist gang.”
Olmert had previously confirmed that Arafat’s ”liquidation” was an option although he indicated that the Israelis were looking to increase his isolation at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where he has been confined for the last 20 months.
The Israeli security cabinet’s decision last week to approve in principle Arafat’s ”removal” has sparked outrage among Palestinians as well as criticism from Washington.
United States Secretary of State Colin Powell said: ”The US does not support either the elimination of him or the exile of Mr Arafat.
”I think the consequences would not be good ones. I think you can anticipate that there were would be rage throughout the Arab world, the Muslim world, and in many of other parts of the world,” Powell said.
Israel’s decision to move against Arafat followed two suicide attacks in Jerusalem and near Tel Aviv last week, which lengthened the shadow hanging over attempts to end the conflict with the Palestinians.
Sharon was hosting a Cabinet meeting on Monday to seek backing for $2,2-billion cuts for the 2004 austerity budget, including a large drop in defence expenditure, army radio reported.
Sharon had vetoed moves by Finance Minister Benjamin Netanayahu to slash the defense budget by $1,3-billion, the radio reported, after severe opposition from Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz. Instead, defence spending is now likely to be reduced by about $800-million.
Meanwhile, two Palestinian children were arrested by the Israeli army after being used as guinea pigs to break through a security fence bordering the Gaza Strip, military sources said on Monday.
The youngsters, aged eight and 10, told interrogators that they had crossed into Israeli territory on Sunday evening after being threatened with violence.
According to the army, the boys had been sent to test the security capacity of the fence around the Kissufim area. The pair were picked up after they triggered a warning.
Four wanted Palestinian militants, including three Hamas members, were also arrested overnight in the West Bank, Israeli military sources said. — Sapa-AFP
Israel considers killing Arafat