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Vice pm says killing arafat consideration { September 15 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://nytimes.com/2003/09/15/international/middleeast/15MIDE.htmlhttp://nytimes.com/2003/09/15/international/middleeast/15MIDE.html
September 15, 2003
Sharon Aide Says Israel Is Considering Killing Arafat
By GREG MYRE
RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept. 14 — Israel's vice prime minister said today that killing Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, was one of several options now under government consideration. His remarks came as a beaming Mr. Arafat soaked up the cheers of supporters who descended on his compound for a fourth consecutive day.
"Arafat can no longer be a factor in what happens here," the vice prime minister, Ehud Olmert, told the Israel radio. "The question is: How are we going to do it? Expulsion is certainly one of the options, and killing is also one of the options."
"In my eyes, from a moral point of view, this is no different than the eliminations of others who were involved in activating acts of terror," Mr. Olmert said.
He said Israel could also leave Mr. Arafat confined to his West Bank office in Ramallah, but "cut him off from the world" by severing communications and barring visitors.
Mr. Olmert's remarks amounted to the most explicit description of options Israel is considering for dealing with Mr. Arafat since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government decided "in principle" on Thursday to remove him, leaving the timing and type of action deliberately vague.
In the past three years of fighting, Israel has carried out dozens of targeted killings of Palestinian militants, including leaders who, in Israel's judgment, gave orders to attack Israelis. Some hard-line members of Mr. Sharon's government had raised the possibility of killing or exiling Mr. Arafat previously, but the cabinet had always rejected that option in discussions on the issue.
The new decision by the government is facing widespread international opposition, including objections from the United States, Israel's strongest ally.
"The United States does not support either the elimination of him or the exile of Mr. Arafat," Secretary of State Colin L. Powell told "Fox News Sunday" in an interview from Baghdad. "I think you can anticipate that there would be rage throughout the Arab world, the Muslim world, and in many other parts of the world."
Mr. Arafat's badly damaged compound has generally appeared listless and semi-deserted during his confinement during the last year and a half. But since Israel announced that it had decided in principle to remove Mr. Arafat, the complex has taken on a rollicking carnival atmosphere, with ordinary Palestinians filling the square outside his office.
Today, a marching band thundered, and Palestinian folk dancers took to a stage set up on the blacktop just outside the sandbagged front steps of his three-story headquarters.
Dressed in his trademark checkered headdress and an olive military-style uniform, Mr. Arafat blew kisses and gave the victory sign to a crowd of about 2,000. They ranged from a white-haired woman who kissed him on both cheeks, to children raised onto the shoulders of their fathers for a better view.
"We are the brave people, and we will continue until we reach Jerusalem," Mr. Arafat said, referring to the Palestinian goal of a state with a capital in the eastern part of the city.
The music, the chanting and a whiny microphone drowned out most of his remarks, but a broad smile never left his face as he took in the adulation for a half hour, then retreated inside.
Amin Abbasi, a businessman, has visited the compound each of the last four days, bringing his wife and four children, ages 4 to 12, at various times.
"You will find people here who don't support the policies of Mr. Arafat," said Mr. Abbasi, 44. "But as Palestinians, we feel we must defend our president and tell the world that nobody can force us to change our leader."
Mr. Sharon's government has shunned Mr. Arafat, saying he has encouraged violence against Israel and has refused to order Israeli security forces to prevent attacks.
The government's call for tougher action followed a pair of Palestinian suicide bombings on Tuesday by the Islamic militant group Hamas that killed 15 Israelis. The days since then have been marked by increased tension and sporadic violence.
Today, Israeli forces shot dead a 14-year-old Palestinian boy who was among a group of youths who cut through a perimeter fence of an Israeli airport just outside Ramallah, Palestinian witnesses and hospital officials said. An Israeli military official said soldiers fired after a group of Palestinian infiltrators did not heed warning shots.
The airport has not been used since the Palestinian uprising began in September 2000, but Israeli troops continue to guard it.
In the central Gaza Strip, Palestinians marched in support of Mr. Arafat and afterward threw stones at an Israeli military outpost near the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom.
After tear gas and warning shots failed to drive the crowd back, the Israeli troops fired on Palestinians, the army said. Several Palestinians were wounded, Palestinians said.
At an Israeli cabinet meeting today, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said the government had agreed to speed up work on a barrier that would separate Israel from the West Bank. The barrier has been criticized partly because it incorporates some Jewish settlements in the West Bank and cuts into Palestinian areas.
One segment — which includes fencing, concrete walls, electronic sensors and trenches — has been built along the northern West Bank. But Israel has not announced the route along the central West Bank.
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company
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