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Arafat Calls On Israelis To Stop Using Illegal Weapons And End Violence
with reporting by Tareq Ayyoub
AMMAN, Feb 14 (IslamOnline) - Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Wednesday accused Israel of escalating the situation in the Palestinian territories and warned that things will worsen if Israel continues on its present policy course.
Arafat, speaking to reporters ahead of talks with Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb, indicated that the Israeli army was using "prohibited weapons" against Palestinian people in an effort to end the five-month-old Intifada, or uprising.
Responding to a question on whether he considered Wednesday's attack against Israeli soldiers in Tel Aviv a reaction to what is happening in the Palestinian territories, Arafat said "without doubt".
"It seems that Israelis have gone berserk," Arafat told reporters. "They are using prevented weapons against Palestinians, including black gas in Khan Yunis, Bethelehem, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour [Palestinian cities]."
Arafat was referring to the use of "black [nerve] gas and other weapons in violation of international regulations" by the Israelis against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and specifically within town of Khan Yunis during clashes in the past two days, adding that, "There is a deliberate Israeli escalation [of violence] against the Palestinian people."
"There is no doubt that the situation will be difficult for everyone if this military escalation continues and weapons internationally banned are used" against the Palestinians, he added.
Palestinians have repeatedly accused Israel of using nerve gas and depleted uranium ammunition against them. But their allegations have largely been unheeded by the international community.
"What is happening is an Israeli military escalation which will have a direct impact on the Palestinian people. If they continue, things will be hard for everybody," Arafat, who left for Turkey, said.
Eight Israelis were killed on Wednesday and 21 hurt when a Palestinian bus driver ran his vehicle over them near Tel Aviv in what outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Barak called an "abominable crime."
The attack by a man described by relatives as having no links to any group added to the violence that has surged since the landslide election of hawkish Ariel Sharon as prime minister eight days ago, prompting Israel to swiftly tighten its blockade on the Palestinian territories.
The attack came one day after Israel assassinated an officer, Massoud Ayyad, in Arafat's personal security force and as a Palestinian security officer was shot dead Wednesday in the West Bank.
Barak vowed that "the perpetrators" of the attack - the deadliest in Israel since a triple suicide bombing in occupied Jerusalem in September 1997 - would be hunted down and punished.
"We are at war," Israeli deputy defense Minister Ephraim Sneh told Israeli radio, while Sharon pledged to deploy "all means necessary to restore security" when he comes to power.
In Jordan, Information Minister Talib Rifai held Israel responsible for the escalation of violence within Palestinian self-rule areas since the beginning of the uprising, triggered by Sharon's visit on September 28th to the al-Haram al-Sharif compound in occupied Jerusalem.
Referring to Israel's killing of the Palestinian bodyguard, Rifai told journalists during a weekly press conference Wednesday that, "Jordan rejects the programmed political assassination and mass punishment which will push the region into unpredicted consequences."
"Blood begets blood," Rifai said, adding that, "The dangerous escalation committed by Israel in the Palestinian territories is a source of worry to Jordan."
"The shelling of innocents and the killing of Palestinian leaders will not add anything new and the circle of violence will not stop as long as the Israeli escalation continues. We hold Israel responsible for the escalation," the minister added.
Rifai stressed on the need to return to the negotiating table from where Palestinian and Israeli negotiators left talks at the Egyptian resort of Taba, "and not from the zero point."
During his meeting with Abul Ragheb, Arafat briefed the prime minister on the Palestinian view on how to deal with the government of would-be Prime Minister Sharon, who recorded a landslide victory in the February 6th elections.
Arafat, who met with King Abdullah late Tuesday, said he briefed the premier on what he described as the "secret agreement" between Barak and Sharon to escalate military attacks on the Palestinian people.
During the meeting with Arafat, Abul Ragheb reaffirmed Jordan's position to abandon violence and to have a political solution "based on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people including the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."
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