Arafat Defiant Over Calls for Expulsion

September 11, 2003
By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was defiant Thursday as Israel's security Cabinet debated whether to expel the man Israelis believe is an obstacle to peace in the Middle East.

"No one can kick me out," Arafat said at his West Bank compound. Asked if he would leave of his own accord, he said, "definitely not."

Seeking a dramatic response to the latest Hamas suicide bombings, Israeli officials debated whether to expel Arafat, and the Israeli foreign minister said a majority of his colleagues support the idea.

However, the United States continues to oppose expulsion, Israeli officials said, and it is unclear whether Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will override his Cabinet and block Arafat's ouster, despite growing public pressure in Israel for drastic action.

Eight of the 11 members of the security Cabinet are in favor of expulsion and two are opposed, Israel TV said. Sharon has not made his view public.

The ministers were also expected to weigh other possible responses to Tuesday's twin bombings that killed 15 Israelis. One proposal is to tighten Arafat's isolation at his West Bank headquarters by keeping out visitors and cutting off phones, and another idea is to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, where the Hamas leadership is based.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in Rome, warned Israel against expelling Arafat, saying it would lead to terrorism and unknown grave repercussions.

In a first response to the bombings, Israel stepped up its campaign against Hamas, dropping a half-ton bomb on the home of a senior Hamas official, Mahmoud Zahar, on Wednesday. Zahar survived, but his eldest son and a bodyguard were killed.

Hamas' military wing threatened to widen its bombing campaign and target Israeli homes and high-rise buildings. Israeli security forces were on high alert Thursday, particularly in Jerusalem, and police checkpoints caused massive traffic jams.

The Israeli military has begun making preparations for Arafat's possible expulsion from his West Bank headquarters in the near future and is waiting for a security Cabinet decision, said a security official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Overnight, Israeli troops took over two buildings — the Palestinian Culture Ministry and an uninhabited structure — near Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah as apparent lookouts, witnesses said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said a majority in the 11-member security Cabinet favors expulsion, but that Sharon might not put the issue to a vote because the United States is not expected to approve such a far-reaching decision. Sharon has vetoed the idea in the past because of Washington's disapproval.

"We are in a situation in which (U.S.) approval for this, in case we asked for it, would be almost impossible to obtain," Shalom told Israel Army Radio. "I think there are some situations in which we have to make decisions ... that are completely cut off from outside influence."

The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot quoted Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz as telling members of his inner circle that expelling Arafat was the least Israel should do, and that killing the Palestinian leader should be considered. However, the security official said the option of killing Arafat wasn't on the table for discussion by Israel's security Cabinet.

Mofaz was quoted as saying he will ask the security Cabinet to "expel Yasser Arafat immediately, without delay." The daily said Sharon asked Mofaz whether he believed expulsion was really necessary, and that Mofaz said kicking out Arafat is the only way to get out of the current cycle of violence.

Former Prime Minister Shimon Peres, head of the moderate opposition Labor Party, warned that expelling Arafat would be a "historic mistake" that would "deepen the hostilities between the Palestinians and ourselves." He told CNN, "Arafat outside (his Ramallah office) will be more effective and more negative than he is today."

In the West Bank, the designated Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, decided Thursday to form a full government, rather than an emergency Cabinet of eight ministers he had initially envisioned.

Qureia made the decision after a stormy meeting of PLO officials, leaders of the ruling Fatah party and legislators, many of whom opposed the idea of a crisis Cabinet.

The decision meant the formation of the government would take more time than expected. Qureia had initially hoped to present his crisis Cabinet to parliament for approval as early as Thursday.

The Palestinian leadership also decided to form a national security council, headed by Arafat, that would oversee all branches of the security forces. The council would technically satisfy a demand by Israel and the United States that control over security be under one authority. However, Israeli government spokesman Zalman Shoval said the step meant nothing as long as Arafat is involved in decisions on security.

Qureia, tapped by Arafat over the weekend to replace Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, initially wavered on whether to take the job, insisting he first get U.S. guarantees that Israel would meet its obligations in the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan.

However, in the wake of Tuesday's Hamas bombings, Qureia was urged by U.S. officials to move quickly to form a Cabinet, Palestinian sources said. Qureia was given to understand that the Palestinians would be in a better position to forestall major Israeli reprisals if they quickly replaced Abbas, who resigned over the weekend after four months of wrangling over control of the security forces.

President Bush urged Qureia to crack down on militants and said the United States has not abandoned the peace plan.

In Belgium, the European Union moved to add Hamas' political wing to the EU list of terrorist groups and demanded that the Palestinian Authority take "all necessary concrete measures" against those responsible for the suicide attacks. The EU's current list includes only Hamas' military wing.

In Ramallah, witnesses reported Israeli troop movements. Israel is in control of the West Bank Palestinian town and has trapped Arafat in his office building there for more than a year.

Israeli forces blew up two houses of suspected militants early Thursday — one in Ramallah, south of Arafat's compound, and the other in the suburb of Beitunia.

Sharon returned from a trip to India before dawn Thursday, cutting short his historic visit by a day. An official on Sharon's plane, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, blamed Arafat for the bombings. "Arafat is responsible because of his strategy to try to have a political process alongside terror," the official said.

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