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Two
Palestinians Killed, Sharon Regrets Not "Liquidating"
Arafat In Lebanon
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| Ariel
Sharon wanted to kill Arafat
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OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, Jan. 31 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israeli
occupation troops shot dead two Palestinian resistance activists in
the southern Gaza Strip Thursday, while Israel’s Prime Minister,
Ariel Sharon regretted not having “liquidated” Arafat in
Lebanon, news agencies reported.
Israeli
military sources claimed that the two Palestinian men were pursued
and killed after allegedly planting a bomb on a road leading to the
nearby Ganei Tal Israeli settlement, AFP reported. The bomb
exploded, slightly injuring a Thai worker employed at the
settlement.
The
Palestinian activists supposedly fled after planting the bomb but
were spotted by Israeli soldiers on patrol who opened fire.
Their
deaths brought the number of casualties in the 16-month Palestinian
intifada against the Israeli occupation, to 1,173, including 900
Palestinians -- the majority of whom are women and children -- and
251 Israelis.
Meanwhile,
hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Sharon said in remarks published
Thursday, that he regretted not having "liquidated"
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in Lebanon 20 years ago.
"In
Lebanon there was an agreement under which he must not be
liquidated, and all things considered, I regret it," Sharon
told the Hebrew-language daily newspaper, Maariv. His remarks were
taken from an interview, which will be published in full on Friday.
Sharon
was defense minister when Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 during the
civil war there. Arafat, head of the Palestine Liberation
Organization, was based in Beirut.
During
Israel's invasion of Lebanon, Sharon used Phalangist cronies to
commit the infamous Sabra and Shatila massacres. He is currently
facing trial in a Belgian court for his role in the massacres.
In
another Israeli aggression in the West Bank, Israeli troops abducted
a member of the armed wing of the Palestinian resistance group
Hamas, during an army incursion into Palestinian-controlled
territory south of Ramallah, an Israeli army spokesman said.
Another
Palestinian accused of involvement in so-called "terrorist
activities" was abducted in the village of Atil near the
Palestinian-ruled town of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, the
spokesman said.
Meanwhile,
Jordan's King Abdullah left for Washington for crucial talks with
U.S. President George W. Bush on the "complex"
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
King
Abdullah, who turned 40 on Wednesday, backed growing international
calls against isolating Arafat, saying he represented the legitimate
leadership that would one day run an independent Palestinian state,
CNN reported.
King
Abdullah is expected to warn U.S. officials of the dangers of
downgrading or suspending Washington's ties with Arafat. He will
also urge the return of a direct U.S. role in efforts to arrange a
cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians, U.S. officials told
CNN.
Before
departing, the monarch spoke to Arafat and Sharon, by telephone an
official said. King Abdullah urged both sides to resume dialogue and
return to the negotiating table, warning that the spiraling violence
threatened stability in the Middle East, he said.
The
king will meet Bush at the White House on Friday. He is also
scheduled to meet other senior officials, including Secretary of
State Colin Powell.
"The
complex situation the Palestinian question has reached will take top
priority and is the most important issue of our discussions,"
the king told Jordanian state news agency, Petra, on Tuesday.
Jordan,
which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1996, has joined Arab
voices in warning the Bush administration against marginalizing
Arafat or severing ties with the Palestinian Authority.
Officials
said King Abdullah would express Arab opposition to Washington
striking Iraq in its so-called "war on terrorism".
Bush
has warned Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to allow back weapons
inspectors "or face the consequences," raising fears in
the Arab world that Iraq would be the next target after Afghanistan.
In
his first State of the Union address, Bush on Tuesday singled out
Iraq, Iran and North Korea as developing weapons of mass
destruction, calling them "an axis of evil."
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