Arafat brushes off latest Israeli threats<\/p>\n
Associated Press
\nRamallah\/Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat brushed off new Israeli threats
\nagainst him on Saturday, telling several thousand supporters that
\nIsrael can never get rid of him.<\/p>\n
Arafat spoke after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he
\nwas no longer bound by an earlier promise to Washington not to
\nharm the Palestinian leader.<\/p>\n
Speaking in poetic Arabic to the cheering crowds, Arafat
\nreferred to himself as a \"mountain.\"<\/p>\n
\"I tell Sharon and his gang, 'Oh mountain, the wind will never
\nmove you,\"' he said. Despite the defiant statements, however,
\nArafat confidants said he was concerned about the latest threats.<\/p>\n
In new violence, Israeli forces killed three militants in the
\nWest Bank town of Jenin, residents and witnesses said. The army
\nsaid the men were preparing a suicide bombing inside Israel and
\nwere killed after firing at soldiers who were trying to arrest
\nthem.<\/p>\n
The men were members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a
\nmilitant group linked to Arafat's Fatah faction.<\/p>\n
Sharon's remarks, in an Israeli television interview on
\nFriday, were seen as his strongest threat against Arafat yet. The
\nwarnings came ahead of a May 2 vote among 200,000 members of the
\nruling Likud Party on Sharon's plan of \"unilateral disengagement\"
\nfrom the Palestinians, and was seen as an attempt by the prime
\nminister to boost his support among the most hawkish party
\nmembers.<\/p>\n
Polls have indicated that Sharon has just a slight lead,
\ndespite his assertion that the plan to pull out of the Gaza Strip
\nand four West Bank settlements will boost Israeli security.<\/p>\n
Defeat would be a serious blow to the prime minister, and he
\nwould come under great pressure to step down. In recent days,
\nSharon has rolled back from a promise to honor the Likud vote. He
\nsaid the referendum is advisory in nature and that he would
\npresent his plan to the Cabinet and parliament even if the party
\nrejects it.<\/p>\n
In the Channel Two television interview, Sharon said he told
\nBush in a White House meeting last week that he is no longer
\nbound by a promise, made three years ago, not to harm Arafat.<\/p>\n
\"My obligation no longer exists,\" Sharon said. \"I am freed of
\nthis obligation. I freed myself from this obligation regarding
\nArafat.\"<\/p>\n
The White House confirmed on Friday that the issue came up,
\nsaying Bush had repeated his opposition to an attack on Arafat.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Kuala Lumpur, members of the world's largest
\nIslamic organization will try to help restore the flagging
\nPalestinian-Israeli peace process in a meeting with U.S.,
\nEuropean and United Nations officials, a report said on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Malaysian foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar said a delegation
\nfrom the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference would
\nmeet with officials from the United States, the United Nations,
\nthe European Union, and Russia, the national news agency Bernama
\nreported.<\/p>\n
Syed Hamid said scheduling of the meeting was being worked
\nout.<\/p>\n
\"We have received positive reaction from Britain, Russia and
\nthe U.S. People are noticing what we are doing,\" Bernama news
\nagency quoted him as saying. The report gave no other details.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/arafat-brushes-off-latest-israeli-threats-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}