JERUSALEM Ñ Israel's domestic intelligence agency has concluded that
Yasser Arafat can maintain his authority on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
even if he is expelled.
Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has promised to exile Arafat if he is the next prime minister.
"The security establishment has concluded that we not do this [expel
Arafat]," Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said.
The assessment was said to represent the consensus of Israel's
intelligence community, Middle East Newsline reported.
National Security Agency director Avi Dichter told a Cabinet panel on
Wednesday that Arafat can continue the Palestinian insurgency war from exile
abroad. He and other intelligence chiefs were said to have opposed any
Israeli expulsion of Arafat.
They said Arafat's international stature would
soar and Israel would be under great pressure to return him to the PA areas.
Dichter's assessment was disputed by Foreign Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu. Netanyahu said Arafat's exile would lead to the erosion of the
infrastructure of Palestinian insurgency groups.
Although they oppose Arafat's ouster, Israeli intelligence chiefs said
that the continued rule of the PA chief will prevent any Israeli-Palestinian
agreement. They said Arafat prefers the current war to a compromise solution
with Israel.
For their part, Palestinians said they expect Sharon to expel Arafat
during any U.S.-led war against Iraq. Fatah leader Hussein Al Sheik,
responsible for the West Bank, said Israel's government will destroy the PA
and exile Arafat.
Sharon has not ruled out the eventual expulsion of Arafat. He said in an
interview on Israeli television that he relayed a pledge to the United
States not "to harm Arafat physically."
