Israel Practices Arafat Expulsion ; Barghouti Back on Dock

03/10/2002| IslamWeb

Israeli occupation troops have practiced expelling Yasser Arafat by helicopter, security sources confirmed Thursday, as a newspaper reported that commandos have scouted the Palestinian leader's place of exile in a foreign country. The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said commandos were ready to carry out the plan on short notice. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reportedly has been pushing for Arafat's ouster, but has been held back by opposition from Israeli security chiefs and the U.S. administration.

Israeli government official Dore Gold declined to comment.

In Tel Aviv, the murder trial of Marwan Barghouti, a prominent leader of the Palestinian uprising, resumed Thursday.

"We will be victorious over the uprising," Barghouti shouted while entering the courtroom.

Israel accuses Barghouti, the leader of Arafat's Fatah movement in the West Bank, of helping plan and finance attacks that killed 26 Israelis.

Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian parliament, says the court has no jurisdiction. On Thursday, he distributed a 54-count "indictment" of Israel, accusing the Jewish state of committing war crimes during its 35-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

In the West Bank, meanwhile, a 45-year-old Palestinian vegetable vendor was killed by Israeli occupation troops trying to enforce a curfew in the town of Jenin, Palestinians said.

Hospital officials in Jenin said the man was shot in the head while standing at his stall in an outdoor market. The military said occupation soldierswere shot at and returned fire.

Elsewhere, an Israeli construction worker helping build a fence between Israel and the West Bank was wounded by shots apparently fired by Palestinians, paramedics said.

Six of the eight main population centers in the West Bank have been under full Israeli control since mid-June after two resistance bombings in Jerusalem.

The West Bank's largest city, Nablus, has been under curfew almost without letup since then. In an apparent attempt to tighten control, Israeli occupation troops have cut Nablus in half, setting up two checkpoints on main thoroughfares and blocking other streets, residents reported Thursday. The occupation army said it does not comment on the deployment of occupation troops.

At Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, advisers denied reports the Palestinian leader was considering relocating to biblical Bethlehem.

"President Arafat will stay in his office in Ramallah to continue exerting efforts to end the siege and this occupation," Palestinian Planning Minister Nabil Shaath said.

The compound largely was demolished during a 10-day Israeli siege that ended earlier this week after intense U.S. pressure. Palestinian officials estimated the damage at 15 million dollars, but it was not clear whether Arafat would rebuild.

Israeli security sources, meanwhile, confirmed a report in the Maariv daily that the Israeli military is ready to expel Arafat on short notice from the government.

Commandos have practiced the operation, which would involve grabbing Arafat at his compound, bundling him into a helicopter and dropping him off in an isolated location in a foreign country, the security sources said.

The commando unit was placed on standby three times in recent months, including after a Passover resistance attack that killed 29 people in March and triggered a major Israeli offensive against Palestinian resistance mans, the sources said.

As part of the preparations, commandos scouted Arafat's intended location, Maariv said. It did not name the country where Arafat would be flown, but Israeli television said several weeks ago that Libya was chosen as the place of exile.

Sharon repeatedly has pushed for Arafat's ouster, an idea opposed by Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, occupation army commander Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon and other security chiefs. Opponents say expelling Arafat would only boost his standing at a time when Israel is trying to sideline him.

It appears unlikely Sharon will expel Arafat as the United States wants to keep attention focused on Iraq and avoid friction with the Arab world. In this climate, Israel was forced to abort its siege of Arafat's compound this week.

Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat said continued Israeli preparations for a possible expulsion of Arafat laid bare what he said was Sharon's hidden agenda.

"This ... reflects that the end game of Israeli government is to destroy the Palestinian Authority , to kill President Arafat and resume occupation," Erekat said.

PHOTO CAPTION

Israeli occupation soldiers ride on top of an armored personnel carrier in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2002, after an unsuccessful attempt to arrest a Palestinian on Israel's wanted list. Israeli forces have conducted search and arrest operations daily throughout Ramallah since lifting the siege on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters Sunday. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghird