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Israel says it was 'never closer' to expelling Arafat
Israel has renewed its campaign of intimidation against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat with further calls to expel him from his West Bank headquarters but it seems no closer to acting on its threats. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom became the second senior minister in days to evoke the possibility of the 75-year-old's banishment, by saying that Israel had never been closer to expelling him. "Arafat has no place among us and the day when we take him out of here and set him to others has never been closer," Shalom said in a speech to activists from the right-wing Likud party, the main party in the governing coalition. "We are going to maintain our policy of isolating Arafat at the Muqataa (his West Bank headquarters) as he is a terrorist with whom it is impossible to negotiate," said Shalom, who has made a number of previous calls for Arafat's expulsion. Arafat has been effectively confined to his West Bank headquarters by the Israeli army since December 2001, having been declared an obstacle to peace by his arch enemy, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.Posted by: Fred 2004-09-10 |
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