\"Arafat will not leave there [the Mukata compound] until the murderers of Rehavam Ze\'evi, who sat together with us at this Cabinet table, are handed over to us!\" So recently proclaimed Prime Minister Sharon, and later added that he would even be willing to hold new elections over this matter. Last night, he was reduced to saying, \"I know that I will be accused of zig-zagging…\" Arutz-7\'s Haggai Segal opined today as follows:
\"It truly is hard not to accuse him of such this morning. After he gave up on the sacred principle of seven days of non-violence, he yesterday threw out another couple of tenets: the demand that the murderers of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze\'evi be handed over to Israel, and the isolation of Yasser Arafat. It was quite embarrassing to follow the progress of the Cabinet meeting yesterday, and to see how he continually changed his mind because of pressure from the White House. In exchange, the Americans did not even promise to call off the UN\'s \"fact-finding\" committee in Jenin. President Bush settled for another of his monotonic calls to Arafat: \'One of the things that Chairman Arafat must do is condemn and uh, and uh, thwart terrorist activities. [pause] It\'s important he do so.\'\"
The National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu party is so appalled by the Cabinet decision to set Arafat free and suffice with the PA\'s \"trial\" of the murderers of Tourism Minister Ze\'evi, that it will submit a no-confidence motion in the government on the matter. Party co-leader MK Avigdor Lieberman called on Sharon today to \"take Peres with you and go home.\" He said that it took the government only a few days to squander the achievements of Operation Defensive Shield.
\"It truly is hard not to accuse him of such this morning. After he gave up on the sacred principle of seven days of non-violence, he yesterday threw out another couple of tenets: the demand that the murderers of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze\'evi be handed over to Israel, and the isolation of Yasser Arafat. It was quite embarrassing to follow the progress of the Cabinet meeting yesterday, and to see how he continually changed his mind because of pressure from the White House. In exchange, the Americans did not even promise to call off the UN\'s \"fact-finding\" committee in Jenin. President Bush settled for another of his monotonic calls to Arafat: \'One of the things that Chairman Arafat must do is condemn and uh, and uh, thwart terrorist activities. [pause] It\'s important he do so.\'\"
The National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu party is so appalled by the Cabinet decision to set Arafat free and suffice with the PA\'s \"trial\" of the murderers of Tourism Minister Ze\'evi, that it will submit a no-confidence motion in the government on the matter. Party co-leader MK Avigdor Lieberman called on Sharon today to \"take Peres with you and go home.\" He said that it took the government only a few days to squander the achievements of Operation Defensive Shield.