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September 19, 2003/Elul 22 5763, Vol. 55, No. 56
World is left guessing on Arafat
RON KAMPEAS
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - In September 1982, an Israeli sniper in Beirut had Yasser Arafat's head in his gunsights, and he waited for an order from Ariel Sharon, who in turn was awaiting word from Jerusalem: Kill him or set him free?
Sharon, then defense mini-ster, soon got the order from Prime Minister Menachem Begin: Let Arafat board the boat evacuating the PLO leadership from Beirut.
More than 20 years later, Arafat is once again in Israeli sights, only this time Sharon is in Jerusalem calling the shots.
Now, after a new wave of Palestinian terrorism and Israeli retaliation, a series of contradictory statements has left the Israeli political establishment, U.S. Jews, the Bush administration and the world guessing: Will he or won't he?
"Killing is definitely one of the options," Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sept. 14, a few days after the Israeli Security Cabinet decided in principle to "remove" Arafat, calling him an obstacle to peace.
On Sept. 15, Foreign Mini-ster Silvan Shalom insisted killing most definitely was not an option under discussion. "We don't speak about killing. We didn't speak about it before, and we don't speak about it today," he said.
The mixed signals have set friends of Israel here on edge, including those in the government and those in the Jewish community, said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Con-ference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organi-zations.
"People aren't easy about it, they're questioning a bit about it, and they're waiting and seeing," said Hoenlein.
Abraham Foxman, the national director for the Anti-Defamation League, said Bush administration officials were not taking the Israeli talk overly seriously.
"They understand Israelis are smart. They're not about to do something that would so upset a friend and ally like the U.S.," Foxman said.
Israel might be setting the stage for Arafat's total isolation within his compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah, he said.
"If Israel made this decision, announced it, the world would go nuts," Foxman said. "Now, if Israel says we will hermetically isolate him, the world is likelier to say 'OK.' "
Many analysts believe that the fact that Israel is talking so much about it means it's unlikely they are going to kill him.
"You don't talk about something like that if you're going to do it," said Steven Spiegel, a professor at UCLA who is associated with the Israel Policy Forum. "You just do it."
The United States has steadfastly opposed exile, repeatedly saying it would only give Arafat a "broader stage."
Indeed, the prospect of Arafat gaining world sympathy and directing terrorist attacks from abroad led to discussions of whether to kill him.
Israelis are overwhelmingly frustrated at the recent tide of terror, and polls show a majority favor Arafat's exile.
JTA correspondents Gil Sedan and Dan Baron in Israel contributed to this report.
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