The PA negotiators who met with American mediator Gen. Zinni this afternoon rejected his compromise proposal. The planned meeting of Israel and PA security officials will therefore not be held tonight.
The big questions in the world media, Israeli government circles, and in the PA is whether arch-terrorist Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will be allowed to leave for Beirut; if so, whether he will choose to do so; and if so, will he be allowed to return. Israel\'s mini-security cabinet convened again last night on the matter, but reached no decision. The U.S. is exerting overt pressure on Israel to allow Arafat to attend the Arab League conference in Beirut tomorrow, despite Israel\'s long-time stand that if the terrorism continues, such permission would not be granted. U.S. Secretary of State Powell phoned Sharon yesterday on the matter, and White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said that Sharon should \"seriously consider\" letting Arafat go - \"in Israel\'s own interest.\"
MK Avigdor Lieberman (National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu), who recently resigned as National Infrastructures Minister, told Arutz-7 today, \"I would allow Arafat to leave [for Beirut], but only with a one-way ticket. Either he stays closed up here, or he leaves for good... I think we have to do two things: Expel Arafat, and get rid of Peres from the government… This government gives up at every step, and is going in the exact path of Oslo… [True, there is American pressure, but] everything depends only on our own determination and our willingness to meet the challenges. They are pressuring us because they know that we can be pressured; Arafat is also being pressured, but I haven\'t seen him yield even one bit... They are happy to pressure us, because they see that we give in. Prime Minister Sharon must define his goals clearly; even when I was in the government, I never understood his exact positions. The PA has a clear goal, but we do not.\"
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon regrets having promised not to physically target or expel Yasser Arafat. In an interview with the Yediot Acharonot newspaper in honor of Passover, Sharon said, “President Bush asked me every time we met not to harm or expel Arafat. I agreed each time... I was correct in doing so at first, but at a certain point I should have told him that I can no longer uphold such a commitment.”
The big questions in the world media, Israeli government circles, and in the PA is whether arch-terrorist Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will be allowed to leave for Beirut; if so, whether he will choose to do so; and if so, will he be allowed to return. Israel\'s mini-security cabinet convened again last night on the matter, but reached no decision. The U.S. is exerting overt pressure on Israel to allow Arafat to attend the Arab League conference in Beirut tomorrow, despite Israel\'s long-time stand that if the terrorism continues, such permission would not be granted. U.S. Secretary of State Powell phoned Sharon yesterday on the matter, and White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said that Sharon should \"seriously consider\" letting Arafat go - \"in Israel\'s own interest.\"
MK Avigdor Lieberman (National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu), who recently resigned as National Infrastructures Minister, told Arutz-7 today, \"I would allow Arafat to leave [for Beirut], but only with a one-way ticket. Either he stays closed up here, or he leaves for good... I think we have to do two things: Expel Arafat, and get rid of Peres from the government… This government gives up at every step, and is going in the exact path of Oslo… [True, there is American pressure, but] everything depends only on our own determination and our willingness to meet the challenges. They are pressuring us because they know that we can be pressured; Arafat is also being pressured, but I haven\'t seen him yield even one bit... They are happy to pressure us, because they see that we give in. Prime Minister Sharon must define his goals clearly; even when I was in the government, I never understood his exact positions. The PA has a clear goal, but we do not.\"
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon regrets having promised not to physically target or expel Yasser Arafat. In an interview with the Yediot Acharonot newspaper in honor of Passover, Sharon said, “President Bush asked me every time we met not to harm or expel Arafat. I agreed each time... I was correct in doing so at first, but at a certain point I should have told him that I can no longer uphold such a commitment.”