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Israel Has No Intention to Harm Arafat: Minister
Israeli Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit said Friday that the Israeli government has no intention to harm Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as a response to the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi.
During an interview with Israel Radio, Sheetrit also stressed that the Israeli government under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has no intention to bring about the collapse of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) led by Arafat.
It was the first official Israeli response to media rumors that the Israeli army would assassinate Arafat, re-occupy all the Palestinian-controlled areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and drive out PNA members if the Palestinians rejected the Israeli ultimatum to turn over the murderer of Ze'evi.
Ze'evi was shot three time in the head by unidentified gunmen in a Jerusalem hotel early Wednesday morning and died three hours later in the hospital.
The radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for the killing as a retaliation of the assassination of its leader Abu Ali Mustafa on August 27. But Sharon held Arafat responsible for the assasination incident.
A Palestinian official said Thursday that "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."
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."
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