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Contradicting Reports About Arafat Taking Blame For Arms Shipment
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| The arms shipment seized
by Israelis in the Red Sea last month |
RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb. 14 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - While Palestinian President Yasser Arafat accused Israel of trying to destroy his ties with Washington by orchestrating a shipment of arms, the United States claimed Arafat has accepted responsibility for the controversial “Karine A”, news agencies reported Thursday.
In an interview with Lebanon's An-Nahar daily newspaper published Tuesday, Arafat accused Israel of masterminding the “Karine A” affair.
"The indications and evidence are that there was an Israeli hand in the ship incident, which targeted us, Iran and Hizbollah. These are all baseless accusations aimed at turning the United States against us, and against Iran and Hizbollah," he added.
Israel charges the Palestinian leadership organized the shipment affair with the help from Iran and the Lebanese resistance group, Hizbollah.
Both Iran and Hizbollah have denied any links to the ship, which Israel seized in the Red Sea last month with 50 tons of weapons it claims were headed for Palestinian-ruled territory, under choking sea, land and air Israeli blockade.
However, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell claimed Thursday that Arafat has claimed responsibility for the arms shipment, in a letter allegedly sent by Arafat, the BBC’s online news service reported.
"He [Arafat] wrote me a letter three days ago on the Karine-A, accepting responsibility - not personal responsibility, but as chairman of the Palestinian Authority," Powell told a congressional committee.
Powell also claimed the Palestinian leader had also promised not to buy arms in the future. The State Department said it was satisfied with Arafat's explanation but wanted action to follow his words.
Regional analysts and observers believe the U.S. is raising the issue as a means of aborting peaceful initiatives by the European Union, recently gaining momentum. “Karine A is an old game. For the U.S. to raise it again now, this is a way of putting more pressure on Arafat. In other words, it is a way of telling E.U. states that the U.S. will not allow any one to put pressure on its ally; Israel,” a political analyst told IslamOnline Thursday, on condition of anonymity.
“It is really outrageous to accuse the victim [Palestinians under occupation] of trying to defend itself while allowing the murderer [Israeli occupation forces] to keep on killing and destruction,” he added.
“It is a joke to hear U.S. officials, parroting their Israeli counterparts, accuse the Palestinian side of violating interim peace accords with Israel. Sharon did not respect any accords, UN resolutions or any other internationally recognized agreements as far as the Middle East is concerned.
“To come now and talk about accords, this is provocative,” he added.
Israeli commandos stopped the Karine-A 500 kilometers (300 miles) off the coast occupied by Israelis on January 3.
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