Sharon and the P.A.

Ariel Sharon is taking a tough line, if the Al-Hayat newspaper is to be believed. The London-based paper reports today that the Prime Minister-elect has threatened to expel Yasser Arafat from the Palestinian Authority if the violence against Israel is not stopped. Sharon responded that there was no threat, merely an insistence on the cessation of all violence as a pre-condition for negotiations. Al-Hayat also reports today that Sharon communicated to Syria a demand that all Hizbullah violence in southern Lebanon be stopped. It was reported today that Yasser Arafat had called Sharon, congratulated him on his election victory, and expressed interest in continuing the negotiations.