Despite appearances to the contrary, Bush administration officials are said to be “open” to the idea of exiling Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat, so long as it doesn’t come about through force.
Citing diplomatic sources, the Jerusalem Post reports that while the United States is not yet trying to negotiate such a move, the idea is “gaining a bit of traction” in Washington. Some U.S. officials have quietly told Israelis they would “welcome” the exile if were to be accompanied by very strong positive measures for the Palestinians and ensure “things would get better.”
“There is wide agreement [between Israel and] the administration that he has to leave the scene. But the question is a) how and b) the timing,” a senior diplomatic source told the paper.
A few European countries are also said to be amenable to an Arafat exile.
Diplomats fear a flare-up in the Middle East while the situation in Iraq remains unstable. Palestinian militants warned “a volcano of Palestinian anger” would follow Arafat’s removal.
As for the “how,” a negotiated exile is viewed as acceptable, while a forced exile is not. In fact, the World Tribune reports Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice both pressured Israel to abandon a planned seize of Arafat last week.
However, the 74-year-old leader vows he won’t be taken alive.
“No one can kick me out. They can kill me with bombs but I will not leave,” he told a crowd of thousands of Palestinians gathered outside his Ramallah compound Sunday.
“The United States does not support either the elimination of him or the exile of Mr. Arafat. It’s not our position, hasn’t been. The Israeli government knows it. And I think the consequences would not be good ones,” the Post quotes Powell as saying on “Fox News Sunday.”
But later in the interview he appeared to retreat from his stance. When asked if he believed any leader in the region thought the region would be worse off without Arafat, Powell replied: “The question is how Mr. Arafat departs from the scene. And if he departs from the scene as a result of Israeli action, I do not think that would help the road-map process.”
A State Department official, when asked for clarification by the Post, reaffirmed Powell’s later rejection of Israeli force but still left the door open to the idea of negotiated exile.
“For [Arafat] to be forcibly expelled wouldn’t serve a useful purpose,” the official said.
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