Assassination Plot Against Arafat UncoveredSome Israelis planned to assassinate Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat following Wednesday's murdering of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi Rehavam, a Palestinian official said Thursday."The Palestinian security agencies uncovered an Israeli plot to assassinate Arafat and a number of Palestinian leaders in an attempt to destroy the Palestinian National Authority and undermine the Middle East peace process," said Arafat's advisor Nabil Abu Rudeina on Thursday. The Palestinian official urged the United States and the international community to "step in immediately to foil the Israeli designs and force the Israeli government to stop all its grave aggressions that will reflect negatively on the whole region." He also warned Israel not to "play with fire. Otherwise, Israel will pay a heavy price." The official held the Israeli government fully responsible for what was happening and the ensuing results. The Palestinian-Israel tension has once again escalated to its worst, since Israeli Minister of Defense Benjamin Bin Elizer said a few weeks ago that Arafat was not a target for the Israeli policy of "targeted killing." On Wednesday, the Israeli authorities denied Arafat access to the Gaza International Airport after Ze'evi was gunned down. Israel also asked the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to extradite the assassins, threatening further attacks if the PNA failed to do so. On Thursday morning, the Israeli defense forces reoccupied the West Bank town of Jenin and Ramallah and killed three Palestinians. The Israeli authorities also imposed a curfew on the areas recently captured in Ramallah. Latest reports also said Israeli tanks had intruded Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. |
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