The security Cabinet, after more than three hours of debate, decided this morning to compromise on the delicate issue of whether to release Yasser Arafat from his confinement in a Ramallah compound. Israeli tanks have holed him up there since early December, after a series of terrorist massacres in Haifa and Jerusalem. He will now be allowed to leave his office, but not Ramallah. Israel continues to demand that the PA hand over the murderers of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze\'evi that it claims to have arrested last week.
The Ze\'evi family called upon the Cabinet this morning not to fall victim to \"Arafat\'s tricks,\" and not to relax the closure. The National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu faction had threatened to resign the government if Arafat is allowed to leave. The Labor Party ministers were in favor of allowing Arafat out of Ramallah. The compromise decision allowed Sharon to avoid a coalition crisis.
The Ze\'evi family called upon the Cabinet this morning not to fall victim to \"Arafat\'s tricks,\" and not to relax the closure. The National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu faction had threatened to resign the government if Arafat is allowed to leave. The Labor Party ministers were in favor of allowing Arafat out of Ramallah. The compromise decision allowed Sharon to avoid a coalition crisis.