Following a marathon five-hour meeting last night, the government declared the Palestinian Authority a \"terrorist supporting entity.\" The security cabinet - Sharon, Peres, and Ben-Eliezer - will decide on the specific steps to take in light of this decision; Minister Tzippy Livni told Arutz-7 today that this will happen \"in the next few days.\" She said that the government has now returned the ball to the court of the Palestinian Authority: \"Until now, we said that the PA has to take action against terrorism, or we would declare it a terror-supporting entity. Now we have said that we do consider it a terror-supporting entity - unless it in fact takes action. The burden of proof is upon them.\"
The government also declared the Tanzim, Arafat\'s personal Force 17, and Fatah as terrorist entities, and will take action against them and their leaders accordingly. It was further decided to prevent Arafat from leaving the autonomous areas.
While Labor MKs want to quit the government in protest of the strong measures, MK Yuval Shteinitz says that the government\'s decisions were not enough: \"So far, it seems like just a little bit more of the same thing. I picture Arafat laughing to himself and saying, \'Again I\'ve managed to overcome another hurdle.\' … I would have hoped that the nation\'s instincts would have penetrated the Cabinet a little bit more.\"
President Moshe Katzav, speaking with journalists in his home today, said that the Palestinian Authority has long given backing to terrorist acts, despite Arafat\'s many promises to stop them. \"Terrorism has reached such dimensions that the government can simply no longer show restraint... The government of Israel showed more restraint than any other nation would have in the face of terror attacks against its citizens.\" The President opined that Arafat should not be personally harmed in Israel\'s attacks.
The government also declared the Tanzim, Arafat\'s personal Force 17, and Fatah as terrorist entities, and will take action against them and their leaders accordingly. It was further decided to prevent Arafat from leaving the autonomous areas.
While Labor MKs want to quit the government in protest of the strong measures, MK Yuval Shteinitz says that the government\'s decisions were not enough: \"So far, it seems like just a little bit more of the same thing. I picture Arafat laughing to himself and saying, \'Again I\'ve managed to overcome another hurdle.\' … I would have hoped that the nation\'s instincts would have penetrated the Cabinet a little bit more.\"
President Moshe Katzav, speaking with journalists in his home today, said that the Palestinian Authority has long given backing to terrorist acts, despite Arafat\'s many promises to stop them. \"Terrorism has reached such dimensions that the government can simply no longer show restraint... The government of Israel showed more restraint than any other nation would have in the face of terror attacks against its citizens.\" The President opined that Arafat should not be personally harmed in Israel\'s attacks.