Posted on 05/08/2002 11:37:02 PM PDT by kattracks
The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, yesterday vowed to die in the West Bank rather than be forced into exile by the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon.Mr Sharon renewed his threat to eject the Palestinian leader while briefing journalists flying home with him after cutting short his Washington visit because of the Palestinian suicide bombing near Tel Aviv that killed 15 Israelis.
But Mr Arafat, speaking in his shattered presidential compound, with an automatic pistol on a table in front of him, said: "They cannot exile me. They can kill me but they cannot exile me."
He condemned the suicide bombing and promised that steps would be taken to try to prevent them. He said for the first time that he would consider calls to unify the diverse Palestinian security forces.
Israel, the US and European governments have been pressing Mr Arafat to bring Palestinian police, the border guards, his own personal guard Force 17 and other security branches together to make them more effective in tackling the Palestinian militant groups responsible for suicide attacks.
Mr Arafat, who was released a week ago from an Israeli siege, took questions from a British parliamentary delegation, led by the Labour MP George Galloway and accompanied by British journalists, about security and the prospects of reviving a peace process.
He was not optimistic of a diplomatic solution in the near future and feared Mr Sharon was about to embark on another military offensive. Mr Sharon "is threatening to continue his military escalation either here in the West Bank or on the Gaza Strip. He mentioned it clearly."
Mr Arafat, whose health has sharply deteriorated since last summer, still looked pale and feeble after being holed up in one room of his compound for six weeks. At the end of the interview he had to be helped from his seat by a Palestinian official, who took his arm as he led him out.
Amid fears of an Israeli attempt to snatch him, entry to his office is through a narrow corridor lined with sandbags, guarded by armed men. The compound itself is littered with rubble, wrecked cars and other debris from the attack.
He was adamant that he will not be forced out off Palestinian Authority territory: "This is my homeland. I was living here before he (Sharon) arrived in this country. I was born here in Jerusalem beside the Wailing Wall. My mother's family is from this area (in Ramallah)."
Mr Arafat's birthplace is disputed, with some accounts claiming that he was born in Cairo.
Mr Arafat said he totally condemned the suicide bombings against Israeli civilians as "terrorist" acts. "We have said it clearly and obviously that the Palestinian leadership is against all these dangerous operations and will take strong steps against those behind it. Those behind it are acting against the whole interests of the Palestinian people."
Asked if he could understand the mindset of the suicide bombers, he replied: "What the Israelis are doing is humiliating our people, killing our people, making massacres everywhere, the destroying of our infrastructure. No doubt this is creating a very bad but strong reaction, especially from this small group of youths who have lost any hope to live."
Though initially tired, he became more animated as the interview went on. He held out little hope for a US proposal for a Middle East peace conference. He said the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, was to go to the region to discuss the details but it already seemed doomed.
"We are not asking for the moon. Sharon said no to the international conference. How can he dare to refuse the international conference? How is this acceptable? There must be a big and quick push to stop this. Our people are paying a very high price," he said.
By a big push, he meant that the US had to put pressure on Israel as it had in the past, as George Bush's father had done in getting an Israel-Palestinian peace process under way more than 10 years ago.
Notice that to an Arab, "humiliation" ranks above death? Humiliate one and they will try and kill you.
"Small group of youths." Yeah, more Arafat BS. Suicide bombings take logistics, construction, planning, indoctrination, training, and above all money.These bombings aren't the result desperate teenagers spontaneously deciding that life is "hopeless."
You're right. I doubt if Arabfat has the cajones to fight to the death. I mean, we're talking about a coward who sends children and girls out to kill themselves and other women and children, and thugs in to massacre unarmed civilians taking part in athletic games.
If the scumbag had any sense of leadership and courage, he'd be out there in the trenches fighting the IDF, and die like a soldier in defense of "his" people. Instead, he holes up, holds news conferences by cellphone, and whines about "mistreatment". Well, hell's belles, goofball, you say you're fighting a war, and there isn't much more severe mistreatment than that...
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