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Israel considered `assassinating' Arafat

Jerusalem June 23. Israel debated assassinating the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, the Chief of Staff, Moshe Yaalon, admitted, the Israeli media reported on Monday.

``The question of why we didn't kill Arafat is worth a discussion,'' the daily Haaretz quoted the Army Chief as telling a conference of the Beersheva Chamber of Commerce on Sunday. ``There were discussions about it in the past, but after weighing up the gains and benefits... we rejected the idea outright,'' Gen. Yaalon said. Israel holds Mr. Arafat directly responsible for the almost 33-month-old cycle of violence, accusing the veteran leader of abetting attacks by militant groups, including the hardline Islamic movement, Hamas.

Mr. Arafat has been holed up in his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah for a year and a half. After being besieged several times by the army, he is now allowed to leave his battered office but has no guarantees he would be allowed back in. The hardline wing of the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon's Government advocates deporting Mr. Arafat, who has been sidelined by Israel and the United States and forced to share power with the Prime Minister, Mahmud Abbas, since late April. — AFP

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