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Arafat Warns Israel on Exile Threats
A finger-wagging Yasser Arafat (1929-2002?) warned Wednesday against any attempt to send him into exile, while hawkish Israeli Cabinet ministers repeated calls to drive the Palestinian leader out of the region after the latest attack killed five Israelis. They say Antarctica is nice this time of year... The proposal to expel Arafat, backed by hawkish members in Israel's Security Cabinet, failed to win approval Wednesday. For the second time in two days, Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged driving out the Palestinian leader. In a speech Tuesday night, Netanyahu said if he becomes prime minister in January elections, his first move would be to expel Arafat. Thereby making a vote for Bibi a vote against not only Yasser, but Yasser's presence. There's probably a lot of people who'd vote for him for that alone... Sharon has sought to diminish Arafat's powers and Sharon's government has long since halted direct dealings with the Palestinian leader. But with Israel's security agencies and the United States warning against Arafat's expulsion, Sharon has refrained from taking any action. Reluctantly, I agree with Sharon on this. Emotionally, I'd like to see Yasser take one of those tank rounds that periodically sail through his bedroom. But if that happened, the Paleos might put someone in who can find his nether regions with both hands. Yasser as an incompetent figurehead â irrelevant in the true sense of the word â leaves the Paleomovement fragmented and without guidance. It's easier to round up stragglers than it is to fight a force that's intact, even though you can take nearly as many casualties doing it... Arafat, meanwhile, responded angrily to Netanyahu. "Netanyahu has to remember that I am Yasser Arafat and that this is my land and the land of my grand-grand-grand-grand-grandfathers," he said on the steps of his offices in the West Bank town of Ramallah, just north of Jerusalem. See what I mean? Arafat has spent almost all of the past year at his headquarters and has completely stopped traveling abroad. Israel has said he is free to go, but suggested he may not be allowed to return to the Palestinian territories. Next atrocity, they're taking away his bathroom privileges... Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-11-13 |
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