Israel decided early Thursday to sever contacts with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and launch wide-ranging military strikes in West Bank and Gaza Strip cities in a move deemed to add fuel to the already-tense regional situation.
The decision was made at an emergency meeting convened by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon following the shooting attack on Wednesday near the Jewish settlement of Emmanuel, and the suicide bombings in Gaza Strip, which killed 10 Israelis.
Sharon claimed at the meeting that Arafat, chairman of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), was "no longer relevant" and "from our point of view, no longer exists."
The meeting was adjourned with a general agreement reached among all cabinet members and no voting was held.
The cabinet decided that Arafat was "directly responsible for the series of terror attacks and has therefore decided that Yasser Arafat is no longer relevant to the State of Israel and there will be no more contact with him."
The cabinet also decided that from now on, Israel would take actions to defend itself in light of the fact that the PNA was not fulfilling its duty in fighting terrorism. It said the responsibility for the attacks was squarely on Arafat's shoulders.
The ministers approved a string of retaliatory steps to be taken by Israeli forces, which, according to some ministers, were "not much more refined" than the current Israeli operations.
Prior to the cabinet meeting, Sharon talked on the phone with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and said that decisions "will need to be made," while an American source said, "our stance is that Arafat needs to do more, and the ball is in his court. The pressure is on him, not Sharon."
The U.S. special envoy to the region General Anthony Zinni said on Wednesday night that "Arafat and the Palestinian Authority must immediately act to arrest those responsible for the attacks and destroy the infrastructure of those terrorist groups supporting them.
"The Palestinians must take actions against them immediately," he said.
The heads of Israeli and Palestinian security establishments were originally scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss continued action against terrorism. The meeting, organized by Zinni is currently in jeopardy of being canceled in light of the attacks.
Meanwhile, according to Israeli Radio reports, Israeli troops have entered into the West Bank city of Ramallah, marching towards Arafat's Headquarters and residence, where Arafat was at the time.
Israeli F-16 warplanes bombed Palestinian security installations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank on Wednesday night in an apparent response to the fatal attack on a bus near the Jewish settlement of Emmanuel, which left 10 Israelis dead and dozens wounded.
Fighter jets also fired more than 40 missiles at the headquarters of the Palestinian naval police and the nearby Force-17 presidential guard in the Gaza Strip.
In a separate move, Israeli warplanes hit a Palestinian security compound in the West Bank city of Nablus and an airport which Israel Radio said was used by Arafat on occasional visits to the city.
There were no immediate reports of casualties so far. Palestinian officials and police cleared the buildings, Palestinian Television reported.
( December 13, 2001)
