Cabinet backs Bush plan for guarding Ze'evi killers
By The Jerusalem Post Internet Staff
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Cabinet today approved a US proposal aimed at ending the month-old siege at Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Mukata compound in Ramallah, government sources said.
The US plan calls for US and British personnel to guard six Palestinians wanted by the government. In turn, Arafat would be allowed to leave his compound and move freely in the Palestinian areas of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the sources said.
There was no immediate response from the Palestinian leadership, and it was not clear whether it would accept the proposal.
US President George W. Bush raised the proposal Saturday in a telephone conversation with Sharon, and an official letter outlining it was sent by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, according to Israel.
The United States Embassy declined to comment on the issue.
If the Palestinians accept the plan, it could end the standoff at the compound, where army troops have been just outside Arafat's offices since March 29, the first day of Israel's military launch of •Operation Defensive Shieldê.
The government has said previously the IDF would stay around Arafat's compound until the suspects were handed over, along with •Karine Aê paymaster Fuad Shubaki, suspected of involvement in an intercepted Iranian arms shipment the government siad was for the Palestinian Authority.
After an extended debate, the Cabinet approved the proposal by a vote of 17-8, Israel Radio reported.
The Cabinet also held an extended debate on whether to cooperate with a UN fact-finding team that was scheduled to arrive today to investigate the military operation in the Jenin refugee camp.
The Cabinet meeting is still under way, more than six hours after it began.
Israeli Minister of Tourism Rehavam Ze'evi was shot dead by PFLP gunmen in October.
Last week, the Palestinian Authority conducted a trial for the accused in Arafat's Mukata compound in Ramallah.
jpost.com. |
