Israel threatens Arafat with expulsion

Yasser Arafat’s expulsion is "closer than ever," the Israeli foreign minister warned, as Israeli troops battled dozens of gunmen on the outskirts of the largest Palestinian refugee camp.

Three Palestinians were killed by army fire - two gunmen and an unarmed man who was shot dead near an Israeli settlement.

The fighting came as Arafat was embroiled in another power struggle with his prime minister, Ahmed Qurie, who submitted a letter of resignation earlier this week, his second since July.

Arafat refused to accept the resignation, and Qurie left in a huff on a private trip to Jordan.

It was not clear whether Qurie would stick to his decision to resign.

Arafat, meanwhile, became the target of renewed Israeli threats.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told supporters in a speech that Arafat’s expulsion is "closer than ever" and that the Palestinian leader had no place in the region. The remarks were broadcast on Israel Radio.

Earlier this week, Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said the government remained committed to a security cabinet decision from last year to remove Arafat.

However, a senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that there were no immediate plans to take action against Arafat.

The renewed threats by Shalom apparently came in the context of domestic Israeli politics. Shalom is seen as a potential successor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as leader of the ruling Likud Party, and is courting hawkish activists.

Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat accused Israeli officials of inciting against Arafat.

"I believe this is part of the strategy of destroying the Palestinian Authority and harming the president," Erekat said.

Arafat has been confined to his battered headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah for more than two years.

Israel accuses Arafat of encouraging militant groups to attack Israel - an allegation Arafat denies.

Israel has repeatedly threatened to expel the veteran Palestinian leader. But the United States opposes such a step, and Sharon has complied with Washington’s wishes.

It also appears unlikely he would risk destabilising the region further at a time when he is trying to push ahead with his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip in 2005, as part of a unilateral "disengagement" from the Palestinians.

Sharon hopes the plan will enable Israel to hold on to large West Bank settlement blocs.

In fighting, Israeli forces exchanged fire with Palestinians on the outskirts of the sprawling Jebaliya refugee camp. One gunman was killed and three were wounded when an Israeli attack helicopter fired two missiles toward the area.

Troops have been operating in the area to try to stop the firing of homemade rockets from northern Gaza at Israeli towns.

Militants fired eight homemade "Qassam" rockets, but no-one was hurt.

Troops also entered the West Bank town of Jericho in an arrest raid, briefly exchanging fire with three Palestinians.

One gunman was killed and two were wounded, the army said. Five fugitives were arrested on suspicion of arms dealing.

Jericho has largely stayed out of the fighting, and Israeli incursions are rare.

Sharon decided to move a section of his West Bank separation barrier closer to Israel, but also endorsed a decision to include two large West Bank settlement blocs near Jerusalem on the "Israeli" side of the obstacle.

In a meeting with Defence Ministry planners, Sharon ruled that the southern section of the barrier, not yet constructed, will run along the "Green Line," the frontier before Israel captured the West Bank in 1967, according to Israeli officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Sharon also said that Maaleh Adumim, a settlement in the desert east of Jerusalem with 31,000 residents, as well as the Gush Etzion, a block of settlements south of Jerusalem with 40,000 residents, would be included on the "Israeli" side.

Including them would mean cutting off chunks of the West Bank and effectively adding them to Israel.

Sharon has not yet ruled on the most contentious issue - whether to encircle the second-largest settlement, Ariel, which is in the middle of the West Bank. However, officials said Sharon was determined to eventually include Ariel on the Israeli side.

Original plans for the barrier had it cutting off much more West Bank territory, but Israel’s Supreme Court forced the government to move it closer to the Green Line in some areas to ease hardships on the Palestinians.

Erekat, the Palestinian cabinet minister, said including Maaleh Adumim and Gush Etzion on the "Israeli" side would mean that Israel was annexing the eastern part of Jerusalem, where the Palestinians want to establish a capital, "prejudging and pre-empting the Jerusalem issue that is reserved for permanent status negotiations".

Palestinians seek all of the West Bank and Gaza for a state and demand that all the Jewish settlements be dismantled. (AP)

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/09/1094530762229.html?oneclick=true