Bomb Arafat's home, says Minister

JERUSALEM, APRIL 1. A far-right Minister in the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Ariel Sharon's government suggested today that Israel bomb Palestinian leader, Mr. Yasser Arafat's home in the Gaza Strip in response to the wave of anti-Israeli attacks.

``Arafat has made his people suffer while he promenades around the world. He must be made aware that he could also be a target,'' said the Tourism Minister, Mr. Rehavam Zeevi, head of the extreme-right National Union.

``I'm not saying we should destroy his palace but I told the Cabinet that that if it is hit, that would damage Arafat's prestige,'' he told Israeli radio.

Mr. Arafat's apartment complex on the Gaza Strip seafront, while not a direct target, was damaged when Israel helicopter gunships blasted targets of his Force 17 elite presidential security force in retalition for a series of deadly anti-Israeli attacks.

At the time, the 71-year-old Palestinian leader was in Amman for the Arab summit. Mr. Zeevi, a 74-year-old retired general with the ironic nickname of Gandhi, has gained notoriety for his comments comparing Mr. Arafat to Adolf hitler and advocating the expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The radio quoted the Cabinet Minister without portfolio, Mr. Danny Naveh, as dismissing Mr. Zeevi's call as a declaration made solely to reap headlines.

``All Ministers have proposals and ideas, but Minister Zeevi's proposal is neither serious nor responsible, and such statements must not be promulgated during a Cabinet meeting,'' Mr. Naveh was quoted as saying.

Tension brewed between Israel and Palestine amid fears of all-out hostilities, as both sides toughened their posture with little hope for a diplomatic solution.

The Palestinian Authority has declared a state of high alert as its security forces prepared for largescale Israeli ``infiltration'' or ``assault'' inside Palestine-controlled areas.

The Israeli police commissioner, Mr. Shlomo Aharonishki, yesterday warned the country of intensified Palestinian attacks and called for ``high caution.''

``The nightmare will continue,'' he told Israel's channel two television. The potential for more terror attacks is very large, and prospects of preventing the attacks in a sweeping fashion are limited. There is no way of giving a guarantee that terror strikes can be prevented over a long period,`` he said.

The Israeli Defence Minister, Mr. Benjamin ben- eliezer, said the ''period of Israeli restraint has come to an end,`` adding security forces were discriminating between Palestinian combatants and innocents in reprisal attacks.

Plans for action against the Palestinian Authority included ''surgical strikes`` against senior activists in the security apparatus of the Palestinian Authority and in other organisations in West Bank and Gaza Strip, a newspaper quoting sources from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said.

After a phase of restraint, Israel's tough posture could escalate tension with more protests and violent demonstrations, political analysts said here.

- Reuters,PTI

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : U.S. to sell hi-tech weapons to Taiwan
Next     : Scoops from trash