The Security Cabinet decided this morning, after more than three hours of debate, to compromise on the delicate issue of whether to release Yasser Arafat from his confinement in a Ramallah compound. Israeli tanks have kept him holed up there since early December, after 30 Jews were massacred over a four-day period in Haifa, Jerusalem and elsewhere. He will now be allowed to leave his office, but will still be bound to 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 from 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 decision specified that Israel \"continues to insist on its demand for the genuine arrest of everyone who was involved in Minister Ze\'evi’s murder and the Karine A [the ship containing 50 tons of weapons the PA planned to smuggle into Gaza].\" The security cabinet ministers noted with satisfaction that the PA\'s arrest of the murderers \"is the direct result of the continuous pressure on the Palestinian Authority and Israel’s determined stand on this issue.\" The government continues to demand that the arrested terrorists be transferred to Israel for trial, but is not expected to remain firm on this point. Ministers Landau and Lieberman abstained; the former explained that this was because of the decision\'s last clause mentioning the Tenet and Mitchell plans, which he said were never accepted by the Israeli government.
The National Religious Party criticized the compromise as a \"typical zig-zag decision,\" and plans to submit a no-confidence motion against the government. On the far left, too, the decision was not greeted cheerfully; Meretz chief Yossi Sarid said that it was \"ridiculous.\"
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 from 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 decision specified that Israel \"continues to insist on its demand for the genuine arrest of everyone who was involved in Minister Ze\'evi’s murder and the Karine A [the ship containing 50 tons of weapons the PA planned to smuggle into Gaza].\" The security cabinet ministers noted with satisfaction that the PA\'s arrest of the murderers \"is the direct result of the continuous pressure on the Palestinian Authority and Israel’s determined stand on this issue.\" The government continues to demand that the arrested terrorists be transferred to Israel for trial, but is not expected to remain firm on this point. Ministers Landau and Lieberman abstained; the former explained that this was because of the decision\'s last clause mentioning the Tenet and Mitchell plans, which he said were never accepted by the Israeli government.
The National Religious Party criticized the compromise as a \"typical zig-zag decision,\" and plans to submit a no-confidence motion against the government. On the far left, too, the decision was not greeted cheerfully; Meretz chief Yossi Sarid said that it was \"ridiculous.\"