A spokesman for PM Ariel Sharon mulled the possibility of removing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, whom Sharon's office accused of being responsible for the double attack. "Let me just refer you to an experiment that took place in Iraq a month ago — what happened when a reign of terror by one leader was taken off, how the people reacted," Raanan Gissin told reporters. "... When people say 'he's the leader and he's doing this' well, they haven't had the opportunity really to see what it means to live, or to behave or to act without Yasser Arafat calling the shots, literally," Gissin said.
| I think I mentioned that Yasser would be involved through al-Aqsa yesterday. I don't think the Israelis are fooled, either, regardless of Rantissi taking the heat... |
Gissin stressed any hope for moving along the peace process rested not on the internationally-backed Middle East âroadmapâ, which calls for the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005, but in ousting Arafat as president of the Palestinian Authority. "The problem is not the roadmap, the problem is the trail of blood ... which has been charted very clearly by Yasser Arafat and those who support him," Gissin said.
| Yep. They know who's in charge... |
Also Sunday, Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner had earlier blamed Arafat for the twin bombings, charging that the aging leader had formed an alliance with Muslim movements like Hamas and Islamic Jihad in a bid to sabotage peace efforts led the new Palestinian premier. "It is in Yasser Arafat's interest to hamper his rival Abu Mazen, to prove he cannot govern, and for that purpose he has formed an alliance with Hamas and Jihad, in an attempt to stop the revival of the peace process with terrorist acts," Pazner charged. "I do not yet know which measures will be taken but we will obviously have to take some to fight against this wave of terrorism," he said. |