Posted on 12/12/2001 6:11:32 PM PST by Smogger
The diplomatic-security cabinet met late Wednesday night with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and held a special discussion following the shooting attack near the settlement of Emmanuel and the suicide bombings in the Gaza Strip. During the meeting it was decided that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat was "no longer relevant."
The cabinet decided that from now on, Israel would take actions to defend itself, in light of the fact that the PA was not fulfilling its duty in fighting terror, and added that the responsibility for the attacks was squarely on Arafat's shoulders.
The ministers authorized a string of Israeli retaliatory steps, which, according to some ministers were, "not much more refined" than the current Israeli operations. The meeting was adjourned with a general agreement between all members, and no votes were held. Sharon said that, "from our point of view, Arafat no longer exists. Period."
According to the ministers, there were few points of conflict between themselves, and the general understanding was that, "we don't expect anything more from Arafat, and from our point of view he is no longer the correct address."
Sources in Sharon's office said that, "we have no intentions of going to war with the Palestinian Authority, but we must retaliate in a way which will harm it. The fact that such a serious attack can be planned and carried out, in the midst of truce talks, is yet more proof the the Palestinian Authority is not doing anything to prevent terror. It would be difficult to carry out such an attack withoug help from Palestinian security forces."
Sharon spoke on the phone with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell after the attack, and informed him of the updates. Sharon said that decisions "will need to be made," while an American source said, "our stance is that Arafat needs to do more, and the ball is in his court. The pressure is on him, not Sharon."
United States special envoy to the region, General Anthony Zinni, said that "Arafat and the Palestinian Authority must immediately act to arrest those responsible for the attacks and destroy the infrastructure of those terrorist groups supporting them. Co-existence and peace do not go hand in hand with terrorist organizations. The Palestinians must take actions against them immediately."
Senior security officials said that "Israel will respond harshly against the PA and holds it responsible. The people who carried out the attack were on the list of 33 wanted militants given to Arafat, but were not arrested."
Zinni met Wednesday evening with Palestinian negotiators as two terrorist attacks, one in the West Bank and one in the Gaza Strip, took place.
Prior to the attacks, the heads Israeli and Palestinian security establishments were to meet Thursday to discuss continued action against terror. The meeting, organized by Zinni is currently in jeopardy of being cancelled in light of the attacks.
Zinni held a meeting Wednesday with Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer. Yarden Vatikay, an adviser to defense minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer denied that Zinni made specific demands of Israel. "His request of Israel was to act in a responsible fashion, but there was no demand to stop actions which are meant for self defense," Vatikay said.
IAF bombs PA targests in Gaza
Israeli F-16 warplanes bombed Palestinian security installations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank on Wednesday in an apparent response to the fatal attack on a bus near the West Bank settlement of Emmanuel, which left 10 Israelis dead and dozens wounded.
Fighter planes fired four missiles at the headquarters of the Palestinian naval police and the nearby Force-17 presidential guard in the Gaza Strip. In a separate strike, warplanes hit a Palestinian security compound in the West Bank city of Nablus and an airport which Israel Radio said was used by Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat on occasional visits to the city.
There were no immediate reports of casualties. Palestinian officials and police cleared the buildings before the attacks, Palestinian Television reported.
The Gaza strikes were concentrated on a Palestinian security compound near Arafat's Gaza Strip headquarters and residence. Arafat was in Ramallah at the time.
Right wing demands PA ouster
MK Zvi Hendel (National Union), said, "The games are over. If the IDF does not go back into all of area-A and return the security responsibility to Israel and get rid of [Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser] Arafat, it should be obvious that it means the end of the government."
Head of the Herut faction, MK Michael Kleiner, said in response to the bombing, "Even more than Arafat wants to establish a state, he wants to kill Jews." Kleiner called upon Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to conquer the entire Palestinian Authority, assassinate Arafat and set fire to the terrorist dens.
The Yesha council of settlements published a statement demanding that Sharon, "remove Arafat immediately, topple the [Palestinian] Authority and impose Israeli security control in all of the territories, in order to crush, once and for all, the terror infrastructure flowering under the Arafat." According to the statement, the United States proved in Afghanistan that it was possible to destroy terror through military means. It goes on to say that, "as long as Arafat is here and the Palestinian Authority is here, the terror will be here and strike at us everywhere."
Foreshadowing?
In a sordid way it is for the best, the Palestinian arabs will finally have to deal with reality, not some fairy tale concocted by Clintonian spin-meisters. The reality is that Israel will not self-destruct, or negotiate its way into the Mediterranean. They will get a very hard lesson and be left with a very hard choice: Live in peace in a democracy where you are a minority, or die where you stand.
Most will see the virtue of the first way, some will simply leave, and many others who cannot bear the reality of Israel's existence will die. Their deaths should be welcomed for they are a blight on humanity.
The leftists in Israel and the USA would rather see Israelis citizens die than stand up to the murderers.
The right in the USA would never put up with this kind of nonsense in this country, once again the right has fix the screw-ups of the left.
Klinton set Israel up for this, he and the left are as responsible for these bombings as the raghead dead men walking Palestinians.
Klinton will be brought to judgement for this, if not in this life then by God.
Israel has restrained itself as long as it has solely to appease the USA. Looks like that restraint may be at an end.
MM
``We have no intention to get Arafat, to assassinate Arafat or to hurt him...We simply see him as having no value as a partner,'' he told a news conference after the cabinet meeting.
Looks like old habits die hard. The Israelis don't want to kill Arafat? Why the hell not?
The USA wants Bin Laden "Dead or Alive".
The Israelis have their shot right now, they either take care of the problem or they will be eventually destroyed.
Well, he was dead wrong. Arafat's cause has been dealt the death blow... they are waking dead, and don't know it.. Their cause no longer has sympathy from the U.S. public.
Semper Fi
I agree that they need to act now, but they're not gonna be destroyed. The story's already been written.
MM
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