Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Cabinet convened this morning and decided to end the more obvious aspects of the IDF’s siege of Yasser Arafat’s Mukata compound in Ramallah. Tanks have already begun to be removed from the view of those in the Mukata’s remaining building, but troops will remain close by to arrest any terrorists who attempt to escape. Israel has announced that of the 200 people holed up inside, 41 are wanted terrorists; the others will be allowed to leave.
The decision comes in the wake not only of a UN resolution demanding an end to the Israeli siege, but also a message from US President George Bush over the weekend to Prime Minister Sharon. Bush strongly urged Israel to take steps to bring the siege to an end. On Friday, Sharon’s Bureau Chief Atty. Dov Weisglass met in Washington with US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice to discuss the situation. Rice told Weisglass that the US expects a speedy resolution to the situation. Israeli analysts say that the Mukata siege is disrupting American plans to form a military coalition against Saddam Hussein.
Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told Israel Radio this morning that a solution similar to the one reached this past May at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was is in the works. Under that arrangement, 13 arch-terrorists were deported to various European countries. Twenty-six other Arab felons were sent to Gaza.
Herut Party Chairman MK Michael Kleiner released a statement in reaction to the IDF pullback. He said that the operation at the Mukata was a stupid publicity stunt meant to degrade the Palestinians and allow the Israeli public to blow off steam after the Tel-Aviv bus attack ten days ago. "The Mukata should have been bombed from the air a long time ago to be finished once and for all with Arafat and the wanted terrorists who are with him," stated Kleiner. According to Kleiner, the Government of Israel consistently declines to bomb targets from the air, as the Americans do before a land invasion to prepare the area and limit loss of life.
The decision comes in the wake not only of a UN resolution demanding an end to the Israeli siege, but also a message from US President George Bush over the weekend to Prime Minister Sharon. Bush strongly urged Israel to take steps to bring the siege to an end. On Friday, Sharon’s Bureau Chief Atty. Dov Weisglass met in Washington with US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice to discuss the situation. Rice told Weisglass that the US expects a speedy resolution to the situation. Israeli analysts say that the Mukata siege is disrupting American plans to form a military coalition against Saddam Hussein.
Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told Israel Radio this morning that a solution similar to the one reached this past May at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was is in the works. Under that arrangement, 13 arch-terrorists were deported to various European countries. Twenty-six other Arab felons were sent to Gaza.
Herut Party Chairman MK Michael Kleiner released a statement in reaction to the IDF pullback. He said that the operation at the Mukata was a stupid publicity stunt meant to degrade the Palestinians and allow the Israeli public to blow off steam after the Tel-Aviv bus attack ten days ago. "The Mukata should have been bombed from the air a long time ago to be finished once and for all with Arafat and the wanted terrorists who are with him," stated Kleiner. According to Kleiner, the Government of Israel consistently declines to bomb targets from the air, as the Americans do before a land invasion to prepare the area and limit loss of life.