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Zinni
Denies Calling Arafat A ‘Mafioso’
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| Zinni said
the reports "lies and gross distortions" aimed at sabotaging
his truce mission |
OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, Jan. 28 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.S. special envoy
Anthony Zinni has denied Israeli press reports that he compared Palestinian
President to a “Mafia godfather”. Zinni called such reports "lies and
gross distortions" aimed at sabotaging his truce mission, news agencies
reported Monday.
"It
is lies and gross distortions that are only designed by those who put it out to
hurt our peace efforts," he was quoted as saying by the Israeli
daily Jerusalem Post.
The
Israeli daily Maariv claimed Sunday that Zinni, who has made two trips to
the region since November, had called Arafat's Palestinian Authority "the
mafia" and the Palestinian leader himself "the Godfather" at a
dinner in Washington over the weekend.
According to the paper, Zinni, an Italian American, allegedly called Arafat the
"capo di tutti capi", Italian for the head of all mafia leaders, in
remarks to the Israeli-U.S. lobby group AIPAC.
He was also reported to have affectionately called Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon a "papa bear ... ready to help me immediately."
The
Jerusalem Post said Zinni had denied even being in Washington at the
weekend and had no idea where the report had originated.
AIPAC director Steve Rosen told the Jerusalem Post said the report was
"grossly distorted" but admitted that Zinni had said "many punchy
things" and that "no one came across that great."
According to Rosen, the reports of the conversation omit much of what was said,
thereby dramatically altering the meaning and "creating a false
picture."
The
Palestinian leader, meanwhile, has dismissed a senior officer and issued arrest
warrants for two more over a boatload of arms seized by Israel earlier this
month, the Palestinian news agency WAFA said Monday.
"On the recommendation of the commission of inquiry into the affair of the
Karine A, president Yasser Arafat has dismissed General Fuad al-Shubaki and
issued arrest warrants against two other officers, General Fathi al-Razem and
General Adel Awadallah al-Moghrabi, who are abroad," WAFA said.
Shubaki, in charge of the finances of the Palestinian security services, and the
two other officers of the Palestinian navy, were named by Israel as being
involved in the smuggling, AFP reported.
Arafat has denied any personal knowledge of the case, to the disbelief of both
Israel and the United States. France and Russia have also demanded explanations
from him.
Israel says its forces boarded the Karine A in the Red Sea on January 3 and
discovered 50 tones of weapons allegedly being sent to the Palestinians by Iran,
with the assistance of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement. Iran which has denied
any involvement.
In another development, a Palestinian injured an Israeli soldier and policeman
Monday after smashing through a checkpoint and speeding into Tel Aviv where
police shot him dead.
The
latest death occurred after a Palestinian driver smashed through an army
checkpoint at Qalqiliya, on the northwest border between Israel and the West
Bank, knocking down a soldier and speeding into Israel. He then crashed his car
with Palestinian license plates into an Israeli vehicle.
Police
initially claimed he had opened fire after stopping his car but later said the
man was unarmed.
The death brought to 1,169 -- most of them Palestinians -- the number of people
killed since the start of Al-Aqsa intifada, or uprising, 16 months ago.
The incident happened the day after a Palestinian resistance activist blew
himself up in occupied Jerusalem, killing an Israeli and wounding around 40
more.
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