Peres denies plan to weaken Arafat

By Kesava Menon

MANAMA (BAHRAIN) JULY 15. The Palestinian Authority President, Mr. Yasser Arafat, and the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr. Shimon Peres, met in Cairo today after they had held separate meetings with the Egyptian President, Mr. Hosni Mubarak. Mr. Peres assured Mr. Arafat that Israel recognised him as the premier representative of the Palestinians and that they had no plans for demolishing his authority. This meeting does not really re-kindle hopes that a very tenuous cease-fire will settle more firmly but it was still a very necessary holding operation.

Military observers in the region, who have access to the Israel Defence Forces have been talking about the plans that Israel was supposed to have drawn up to strike a devastating blow to the Palestinian Authority in the event of another major terrorist strike. These views have been buttressed by comments appearing in the Israeli press. The idea of an eminent devastating Israeli attack got a sort of more authoritative status when Foreign Relations a newsletter of the Janes Group of publications set out some details of Israel's supposed battle plan. Military observers and Foreign Relations were more or less in agreement on the matter of the troop strengths that Israel was supposed to have ear-marked for the operation.

According to the military observers Israel had apparently earmarked a brigade strength of paratroopers and an armoured brigade along with special forces and supporting troops for the operation. Foreign Relations said that Israel thought their campaign might result in as many as 3000 Palestinian casualties and they were themselves prepared to lose at least a couple of hundred men. The objective, in the assessment of all, was the destruction of the entire superstructure of the Palestinian Authority. At the end of the exercise Israel envisaged that Mr. Arafat would once again find himself in exile without any authority over the Palestinian territories.

It is doubtful whether the US would have allowed Israel to ever implement such a plan. The US administration has already begun to feel the heat of the resentment within the Arab world. A reversal of the status quo that has prevailed for the last seven years does not at all look very likely. However the Israel Government, and especially the Prime Minister, Mr. Ariel Sharon, have repeatedly said that their patience is running thin. Over the week end they announced a tightening of the policy on retaliation against attacks by Palestinian militants. Their response to further acts of ``provocation'' Israel, has said would be immediate scaled according to the scale of the provocation.

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Section  : International
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