Bush Exerts Lopsided Pressure on Arafat

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, March 31, 2002

Bush Exerts Lopsided Pressure on Arafat

U.S. President George W. Bush broke his silence on Saturday and exerted pressure on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, urging him to "do a lot more" to prevent violence in Israel.

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U.S. President George W. Bush broke his silence on Saturday and exerted pressure on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, urging him to "do a lot more" to prevent violence in Israel.

This was Bush's first response since the Israeli troops stormed into the building of Arafat in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday, a response that was almost similar to the statement made by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday.

"I think Chairman Arafat could do a lot more ... I believe he needs to stand up and condemn these attacks," Bush told reporters from his Texas ranch, where he is having Easter holidays.

"I think Mr. Arafat could have done more three weeks ago and can do more today. I think I have been disappointed in his unwillingness to go 100 percent for fighting terror," he said.

But in his remarks, Bush did not even mention the occupation ofIsraeli troops in the building of Arafat, much less call on Israelto pull its troops out of Ramallah.

Instead, he expressed his understanding of and respect for Israel's right to defend itself.

"I fully understand Israel's need to defend herself, I respect that. It's a country that has seen a wave of suicide bombers coming to the heart of their cities and killing innocent people," Bush said.

He told Israel to "make sure that there is a path to peace as she secures her homeland."

Israel sent troops into Ramallah and rolled into the compound of the Palestinian leader on Friday, at the very time when the Arab leaders adopted a peace proposal initiated by Saudi Arabia atthe summit held in Beirut, Lebanon.

The Israeli attacks have courted strong reactions and criticism from the world community, which has called on Israel to stop military actions against Arafat.

On Saturday, Arab League chief Amr Moussa told reporters after the league's emergency meeting that the current escalation has indicated Israel's rejection of peace.

"What is going on is the continuation of the Israeli military occupation, and the Palestinian resistance is the only reaction tosuch Israeli acts," he said.

"The resistance cannot be stopped, as long as the occupation isstill there and Israeli tanks and soldiers are in the Palestinian lands," he said.

In another development, officers of the Palestinian Force 17, the special brigade protecting Arafat, told Xinhua on Saturday that Israeli troops were a few meters away from Arafat's office and called on Arafat to surrender or they would break in.

They said that Arafat, who has been disconnected from the outside world since Friday, agreed with his bodyguards that they would never surrender, and that Arafat decided to fight together with them if Israeli troops break into his office.

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