Tuesday, Sep 24, 2002
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By Atul Aneja
Israeli army withdrew its bulldozers on Sunday afternoon after they had demolished most of the buildings in the compound over the weekend, and allowed a delivery of food and water to the sole remaining structure in which Mr. Arafat along with at least 50 other Palestinians are trapped. The decision to stop the demolitions followed the U.S. public rebuke to Israel that its destruction of Mr. Arafat's compound, was "not helpful'' in curbing terrorism. "Israeli actions in and around the Muqata (Mr. Arafat's headquarters) are not helpful in reducing terrorist violence or promoting Palestinian reforms,'' said the White House spokesperson, Jeanie Mamo. Analysts point out that by mounting some pressure on Israel to stop the demolitions, the U.S. hopes to lower the resistance among key Security Council members — , Russia, France and China — to its position that the Council should adopt a fresh mandate that would facilitate a military attack on Iraq. Most of the Security Council members oppose the Israeli action against Mr. Arafat. Washington's ally Britain, in fact, has declared that it would lodge a formal protest with Israel over its action. Many believe that the Israeli action would enhance Mr. Arafat's popularity. According to the Palestinian Labour Minister, Ghassan al-Khatib, the siege " is strengthening Mr. Arafat. It is giving (him) public sympathy and public credibility.'' Keen to appease some of the Council members, Washington, a day before the Iraq debate, is also likely to support a resolution that calls for the lifting of the Israeli siege on Mr. Arafat and other Palestinian who are holed up in four rooms in the only building that has survived the Israeli demolition in Mr. Arafat's Ramallah compound. The Security Council on Monday is debating the standoff between Mr. Arafat and the Israeli Government. The Palestinians are mooting a resolution in this meeting that calls for the lifting the siege, but stops short of condemning Israel. According to observers, the Palestinians who have called for this debate in the Council have carefully calibrated the wording of this resolution as they are well aware that the U.S. would have no choice but to veto any condemnation of Israel on account of its special relations with the Jewish State. Israeli officials and others meeting top-level U.S. officials in recent weeks have reportedly said that Washington is currently far less interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but is, instead, focused on Iraq. Consequently, it is keen that developments on the Israel-Palestinian front do not obstruct it efforts to build a coalition that is needed for an offensive against Baghdad. The Bush administration had nearly succeeded in diverting attention away from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to developments in Iraq, but last week's suicide bombings in Israel and its subsequent retaliation by Israel in the form of Mr. Arafat's siege has once again forced the U.S. to attend to this crisis.
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