Israeli security Cabinet will work to 'remove' Arafat

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel's security Cabinet on Thursday said it will work to "remove" Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, a decision that could mean the Palestinian leader's expulsion from his Ramallah compound, the Israeli prime minister's office said..

But no immediate action has been taken, said Ra'anan Gissin, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Gissin said the security Cabinet believes that "Yasser Arafat is a complete obstacle to any process of reconciliation and peace between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors."

He said Israel will act to remove "this obstacle" in a time and manner of its choosing.

"That does not mean that we are going to expel him tomorrow," he said.

The Sharon aide said the move could mean tightening restrictions on Arafat or neutralizing him in other ways. The issue is "how best to remove this obstacle without causing further damage" to peace with the Palestinians, he added.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Sha'ath called the announcement a "declaration of war" and said it could be a form of psychological warfare intended for shock effect.

"Removing the obstacle should have started with removing the occupation. It is the Israeli occupation that is the obstacle," Sha'ath said. "We're not invading the Israeli territory. Israeli forces are occupying our country. The obstacle to peace starts there."

Sha'ath said Israel has exacerbated the conflict by refusing to remove settlements and building a security fence that cuts into the West Bank.

Speaking in a TV report, Arafat said, "This is the terra sancta. No one can kick me out."

Asked if he was concerned for his life, Arafat said defiantly that the Israelis "can kill me by their bombs" but that he will "definitely not" leave.

Arafat said he is committed to the road map to peace and urged its quick implementation.

In Ramallah, Palestinian Authority officials used loudspeakers to urge Palestinians to head to Arafat's compound and rally around him. Scores of Palestinians staged demonstrations in support of him. In Gaza City, dozens of people, some brandishing weapons, started protesting.

The Israeli move comes at a time when the U.S.-backed "road map" for peace appears buried under repeated Palestinian terrorist attacks on Israelis and Israeli strikes on Palestinian extremist group members that also have killed bystanders.

The road map -- backed by the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia -- aims to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and establish an independent Palestinian state by 2005.

After two Hamas suicide bombings killed 15 Israelis Tuesday, Israeli warplanes hit the house of Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar on Wednesday, wounding him and at least 20 others and killing his son and a bodyguard.

The Palestinian Authority also is undergoing a governmental crisis. Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas quit last weekend, and the Palestinian Authority parliament soon will consider a new government put together by Prime Minister-designate Ahmed Qorei.

Also Thursday, an Arafat aide said that the authority plans to consolidate its security apparatus under the Palestinian president.

Israel, which backed Abbas, has said it will not support a government led by Arafat or one of his allies. Officials recently have raised the issue of expelling Arafat from the West Bank, where he has been under siege for months at his headquarters in Ramallah.

The security Cabinet, which includes ministers responsible for security issues, met after Sharon cut short his trip to India after Tuesday's suicide bombings.

In Washington, National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said the Bush administration's position remains unchanged regarding the expulsion of Arafat, adding that the Israeli move would not be "helpful."

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the U.S. view is that Arafat "is part of the problem, not part of the solution."

"At the same time, we think it would not be helpful to expel him because it would just give him another stage to play on," Boucher said.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned against exiling Arafat, saying it would be a dangerous move, according to Reuters.

"Nobody can tell what would happen in the Palestinian territories if Arafat is expelled," Mubarak told Reuters. "Terrorism, violence will erupt everywhere. It would be a very dangerous situation."

Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who is in Washington, also said he thought removing Arafat would be unwise.

"I think it will be a mistake," Peres said. "Arafat outside the country will be more bitter and more negative and freer to do so."

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Originally posted by Mr. Dictator
what do you mean "booo!"?

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Originally posted by Mr. Dictator
sry i just have no respect for Terrorists or their supporters

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Originally posted by Azadre
I like Arafat

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Originally posted by kittenOFchaos
Why did they give a public announcement before actually ACTING?

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Originally posted by Sean Lindstrom


Because the world must believe their intentions are A before B occurs. He's going to die.

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