Sharon Holds Meeting over Response to Palestinian Attacks Upon

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, December 03, 2001

Sharon Holds Meeting over Response to Palestinian Attacks Upon

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convened an urgent session of his inner security cabinet Monday morning, upon returning from Washington, to discuss possibleresponses to the Palestinian attacks which killed 26 Israelis.

The urgent session, held at a military base in the center of Israel, will be the first in a series of high-level consultations over possible military moves that could even threaten the power of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat if the right-wingers gain the upper hand, the website of Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported.

Sharon is scheduled to convene a full cabinet meeting Monday evening to debate how to respond to the fatal bombing attacks in central Jerusalem and the northern city of Haifa on Saturday night and Sunday noon, which left 26 Israelis dead and hundreds more wounded.

Sharon cut short his trip to the United States and returned hometo decide a response to the worst wave of Palestinian attacks in nearly six years.

Defense officials are expected to present a range of detailed proposals on stepping up military operations in the occupied Palestinian territories.

A senior official in Sharon's entourage said that the ouster of Arafat would be among the options the cabinet would discuss, the website reported.

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