Arafat may be expelled by Israel

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, September 7 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The situation in the Middle East remained on the verge of explosion Sunday, September 7, with Israel "vowing to continue its war of liquidation" against Hamas, implying "the inevitable expulsion" of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and the resistance factions "vowing painful retaliatory attacks against Israeli targets".

In Israel, security forces were on a heightened state of alert after Israel attempted to assassinate Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and other top leaders of the resistance movement in the Gaza Strip Saturday, September 6, according to Israeli daily Ha’aretz.

"Following the strike, in which Yassin was lightly wounded when a F-16 fighter jet dropped a quarter-ton bomb on a building in Gaza City, the defense establishment ordered a full closure of the West Bank and Gaza, and Palestinians were not
allowed to enter Israel.

"A senior police official said that in light of the failed attempt on Yassin's life, the
question was not whether there would be a terror attack, but when and where," wrote the paper.

The Israeli forces consider Palestinian resistance against the occupation of their homeland to be "terrorism".

Bloodthirsty

"Our retaliation is out of the question, but this is left to our military wing to decide," Yassin

Within the same context, an Israeli senior government official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Sunday that Israel intends to "liquidate all of Hamas".

"We intend to liquidate all of Hamas, without any distinction between the political and military branches of this terrorist organization," the official said, on condition of anonymity.

"Israel will strike everywhere against anyone implicated in attacks and none of the terrorists should think they are immune," he argued.

Arafat Expulsion "Inevitable"

Upping the stakes, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Sunday that Arafat's expulsion should be the "inevitable result" of Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas's resignation.

"The expulsion of Arafat is, as I have already said, the inevitable result of what he has done to provoke the fall of Mahmud Abbas," Shalom told Israel public radio.

Abbas' resignation was proof of Arafat's refusal "to allow any political process to develop," Shalom claimed.

The Israeli government has long accused Arafat of undermining Abbas and the peace process.

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said last Tuesday that his government would consider the issue of Arafat's expulsion before the end of year, calling Israel's past failure to send him into exile a "historical mistake".

The democratically-elected Palestinian president has been confined by Israeli occupation forces to his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah for the last 20 months.

According to media reports, the majority of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet is in favor of expelling Arafat but the security services have warned that he could have more of a "capacity for nuisance" in exile.

“Disastrous”

Commenting on Israel’s threats to expel the symbol of the Palestinian struggle, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath cautioned Sunday such a move would be disastrous, according to AFP.

"It would be disastrous," he told Israeli military radio. "After all I think the consequences of keeping him under siege has been disastrous," he maintained.

Vows Of Revenge

Israelis demonstrate against Sharon policy of "assassination"

Following the failed attempt on Yassin’s life, all Palestinian resistance factions "vowed revenge against the Zionist entity".

Hamas founder, speaking to Al-Jazeera television Sunday, insisted the Israeli attempt on his own life meant that "armed resistance was the only option the Palestinians have got left".

"Even if Israel killed Ahmed Yassin, hundred Yassins will emerge to keep fighting the Zionist entity till we realize the liberation of our land," the aging, crippled Hamas spiritual leader told the Qatar-based channel.

Speaking to IslamOnline.net, hours after his assassination, Yassin accused Sharon of "losing his mind and committing insane actions that would inevitably bring about nothing but destruction to the whole region".

"Our retaliation is out of the question, but this is left to our military wing to decide," Yassin told IOL late Saturday.

Hamas senior political leaders, including Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi who survived an Israeli bid on his life in June, and Ismael Abu Hanya who survived Saturday’s assassination attempt, echoed the same threatening messages.

Other Palestinian factions, such as the military wing of Fatah and Islamic Jihad, also pledged "painful revenge" for the failed attempt on Yassin’s life.

Hell To Break Loose

Elsewhere in the region, Jordanian newspapers Sunday accused Israel of throwing the peace process into turmoil after attempting to kill Yassin, with one daily warning "all hell" will break loose.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Mosher denounced the attack as "a real threat for the peace process and unacceptable whatever its motives", warning that Abbas' resignation gives Israel "the excuse to neglect its obligations under the roadmap".

Moasher also expressed his concern in separate phone calls late Saturday to Shaath and top negotiator Saeb Erakat, urging them to close ranks, the Petra news agency reported.

He telephoned EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to ask him to keep up efforts to implement the roadmap, sponsored by the European Union, the United States, Russia and the United Nations.

Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb also telephoned Abbas Saturday evening, offering Amman's help in bridging the gas between him and Arafat, Petra said.

The flurry of diplomatic activity came as the press warned of dire consequences unless the Palestinians close ranks and the world community, particularly the U.S., intervenes to salvage the peace process.

"All hell will break loose because yesterday Israel dealt a double blow to the entire peace process," Al Arab Al Yawm said in an editorial, accusing Israel of provoking Abbas into resigning by denying him support.

"The cycle of violence and the windmill of death has returned to the Palestinian scene after a brief truce during which Israel made many dangerous mistakes by launching anew the war of assassinations," against Palestinian resistance activists, it said.

For the Al-Dustour daily, Israel's decision to target Yassin shortly after Abbas resigned reflects its determination "to bring the roof down on everyone," paving the way for the re-occupation of the Gaza Strip.

"Israel has destroyed the chance of peace presented by the roadmap. The international community ... must intervene immediately before the situation gets out of control," the newspaper warned.

The English-language Jordan Times accused Sharon of seeking to "debilitate the peace process (and) kill it".

"Without the full support of the international community to force Israel to back off ... the stories to be filed from the Middle East will continue to be ominous," it added.