Israeli sword hangs over Arafat

Despite a weekend of international outcry, Israel appears committed to its decision to "remove" Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, although the meaning of the term remains unclear.

Israel's deputy prime minister, Ehud Olmert, indicated Sunday that Israeli resolve hasn't been dimmed by the opposition to Mr. Arafat's removal, which most observers interpret to mean sending him into exile. Not Mr. Olmert, a prominent Israeli hawk. "Killing [Arafat] is definitely one of the options," he told Israel Radio.

Arab, European, and US officials have denounced Israel's plan to remove Arafat. Even so, says a Western diplomat who closely tracks Israeli-Palestinian affairs, "We're getting indications [the Israelis] are serious. It's not a rational thing, but it's the move they're going to make."

The diplomat and other observers suggest that a major terrorist strike against Israelis will give the government all the reason it needs to return Arafat to exile.

Palestinian politicians seem unwilling to believe that Israel will actually act against their leader, apparently certain that warnings of postremoval chaos will dissuade the Israelis. The Palestinians' disbelief is tinged with a touch of complacency, which appears to derive from the impression that the Israelis have made a misstep that has brought international condemnation and served to unite Palestinians.

Arafat, his associates say, now feels he has gained new leverage to counter Israeli and US efforts to encourage the emergence of an alternative Palestinian leadership.

At a closed-door session with Palestinian legislators week ago, Mahmoud Abbas, who resigned as Palestinian Authority prime minister on Sept. 6, criticized Arafat for failing to cede authority. Today, says Telecommunications Minister Azzam al-Ahmad, Arafat "feels his people are standing with him and that it's been confirmed that he can't be ignored," a reference to Israel's longstanding insistence that Arafat is irrelevant.

On Friday, when crowds gathered at Arafat's much-battered compound, "I saw many Palestinians who oppose Arafat's policies; they came to show solidarity and to defend him," says Mr. Azzam. The idea - promoted by Israel and the US - that Palestinian moderates can and should emerge to provide an alternative to Arafat's leadership "is finished," the minister adds.

Sakher Habash, a longtime colleague of Arafat's, points to the creation of a new Palestinian National Security Council, which held its first meeting over the weekend, as an example of Arafat reasserting his prerogative.

Mr. Abbas, the former prime minister, had wanted Arafat to grant him control of Palestinian security forces, in part so he would be better placed to arrest Palestinian militants in accordance with US and Israeli demands. Arafat's refusal was one reason Abbas quit.

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