U.S. Can Not Prove Arafat Linked to Arms Smuggling: Powell

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, February 07, 2002

U.S. Can Not Prove Arafat Linked to Arms Smuggling: Powell

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U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday that he does not have the evidence which links Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat personally to the arms smuggling which took place in Red Sea early last month.

"I can not tie it directly to Chairman Arafat on the basis of the information that is available to me," Powell told the House of Representatives International Relations Committee.

"It certainly is a case where he should have known and may well have known. I just can't prove that he did know, or had direct control over the operation," Powell added.

But the secretary noted that it is close enough that the Palestinian Authority has to take the responsibility for the incident.

The Israeli government has been accusing Arafat and the Palestinian Authority of attempting smuggling arms into Palestinian-controlled areas after Israeli commandos intercepted a ship carrying 50 tones of weapons and ammunition in Red Sea on January 3. The Palestinian side has rejected the Israeli charges.

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