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Expelling arafat may be next move { September 12 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/12/1063268526111.htmlhttp://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/12/1063268526111.html
Expelling Arafat may be next move
By Ed O'Loughlin, Herald Correspondent in Jerusalem
September 12, 2003 - 12:30AM
The Middle East is bracing for Israel's response to Tuesday's two suicide attacks, with the Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, convening a special meeting of his security cabinet yesterday after cutting short a visit to India.
The cabinet met amid reports of unusual Israel troop movements in and around the de facto Palestinian capital of Ramallah, fuelling speculation that Israel might move to expel the Palestinian Authority chairman, Yasser Arafat.
The Israeli Government has again made it clear that it blames Mr Arafat for the terrorist attacks, which killed 15 people plus the two bombers, even though the killers were both members of the Islamist group Hamas. Three Australian holidaymakers were slightly injured in the second attack, on a coffee house in Jerusalem.
An Israeli official told reporters accompanying Mr Sharon back from India that "Arafat is responsible because of his strategy to try to have a political process alongside terror".
The heightened violence comes at a time when Mr Arafat is back in the spotlight despite still being confined to his Ramallah office by Israeli troops.
Last week his moderate prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, resigned after Mr Arafat refused to give him full power over the Palestinian security forces. Mr Abbas had demanded these powers so he could comply with Israel's demand that he move against militants in the occupied territories.
Mr Arafat has since appointed another veteran moderate, Ahmed Qurie, to succeed Mr Abbas, but efforts to get Israel to accept the appointment could be swept away by mounting violence. Israel has also said it will not work with any Palestinian security regime that is controlled by Mr Arafat, even indirectly.
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom, has said that he and a majority of Mr Sharon's cabinet would support the expulsion of Mr Arafat, but that Mr Sharon would probably not put the matter to a vote without Washington's support, which he judged unlikely at this stage.
The United States Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has said several times in recent weeks that he believes Mr Arafat's expulsion would only fan the flames in the Middle East and might make the veteran leader even stronger.
Meanwhile, militant groups continue to threaten more attacks against Israel as the tit for tat cycle spins on. Hamas said it plans to extend its terrorist campaign to attacks on Israeli homes and buildings, following an unsuccessful attempt on Wednesday to assassinate a Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar, in his Gaza home. His son and bodyguard were killed and his wife badly wounded.
Hamas said this was the first Israeli attempt to kill a leader by bombing his family home and therefore crossed a "red line", making Israeli homes targets as well.
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