A sad Arafat. The Israelis might exile him from Palestine

The Western community has harshly criticized the actions of the Israeli army on the territory of the Palestinian autonomy. French Foreign Ministry spokesman Francois Rivasseau claimed that the Israeli leadership had a right to protect its nation from the actions of blind violence and hatred and that it was its obligation, but hunting for the president of the national autonomy had a risk of being sucked in by the leaders of terrorist structures, the goal of which was to eliminate all hopes for the peaceful solution of the Mideast conflict.

While the French diplomat was releasing his angry statements against Israel, Tel Aviv was actively discussing the future fate of the “Ramallah prisoner.” Israelis entered Ramallah yesterday and totally isolated Arafat’s residence because they blame Arafat for the latest acts of terrorism in Israel.

Ariel Sharon is leaving for the USA on Saturday, and is expected, the Israeli prime minister will discuss this question with George Bush. The USA expresses its discontent with Arafat’s inaction in an open manner, but the country is not yet ready to abandon him. American national security spokesman Sean McCormack stated yesterday that Yasser Arafat’s exile would not help to establish peace in the Middle East. McCormack declared that such a measure would not bring any results. He also stated the necessity to attract as many Palestinians as possible to set up new governmental bodies. Therefore, it is too early to say that Arafat is in disgrace; he is still a key figure of Mideast politics for Washington.

Dmitry Litvinovich PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov