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Israel Bars Arafat From Bethlehem Again
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel on Tuesday barred Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem for a third straight year, as Egyptian mediators again pressed Palestinian militants to halt attacks.
Let him visit Bethelem and forget about any foreign tourists in the West ... oh, right.
With efforts to revive peace talks at a standstill, Israeli leaders sent a mixed message to the Palestinians: Israel is ready to negotiate but will take unilateral action if peace talks fail.
That’s not a mixed message, but al-Guardian missed it.
Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has advocated a unilateral pullout from occupied lands in recent weeks, warned the public to be ready for painful concessions. He said ``tens of thousands’’ of settlers in the West Bank and Gaza would be uprooted - though he gave no details.

Arafat told a Christian delegation at his sandbagged headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah that he hoped to participate in the Christmas festivities this year in Bethlehem, the traditional site of Jesus’ birthplace. ``I haven’t missed it, except since being besieged in this building,’’ Arafat said.
Coincidentially, the last few years have been peaceful there at Christmas time.
Arafat, a Muslim, regularly attended the Bethlehem celebrations - a politically motivated move aimed at asserting Palestinian control of the town - before Israel confined him to Ramallah two years ago. Israel accuses the Palestinian leader of failing to prevent suicide attacks.

The Palestinian Authority had requested that Arafat be allowed to make the 12-mile trip from Ramallah to Bethlehem, an Israeli official said. But Israel’s policy is that ``Arafat stays where he is unless you want him on a slab as much as we do,’’ the Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, called Israel’s decision ``unfortunate.’’

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia has made the travel issue a priority. Enabling Arafat to move around again would strengthen Qureia’s public standing as he tries to restart peace talks.
Might move his poll numbers from 0.1 to 0.2%.
Posted by: Steve White 2003-12-17
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=22865