Bin Laden not fighting for Palestine, says Arafat
"Why is bin Laden talking about Palestine now?" the Palestinian president was quoted as saying in an interview with Britain's Sunday Times.
"He never helped us. He was working in a completely different area and against our interests."
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said recently that al-Qaida had established a presence in Palestinian-ruled areas of Gaza, as well as in Lebanon. But Arafat dismissed the charges as "big, big lies".
The Palestinian leader also demanded that al-Qaida's leader, Saudi-born bin Laden, stop exploiting the Palestinian cause to further his own interests.
Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for two attacks on Israeli tourists in Kenya last month, calling them revenge for Israel's military countermeasures against the Palestinians.
"I'm telling him (bin Laden) directly not to hide behind the Palestinian cause," Arafat said. Israeli officials insist al-Qaida's interference in the Middle East is a fact, pointing to Jordan's announcement on Saturday it had arrested two members of the group for the assassination of US diplomat Laurence Foley in October.
Meanwhile, Israel's cabinet decided yesterdaythat Arafat will not be allowed to travel to Bethlehem for Christmas celebrations.
Sharon's cabinet made the decision at its weekly meeting after consulting with the security forces. Israel's security agencies continue to receive warnings about possible Palestinian attacks from the Bethlehem area near Jerusalem, and removing the troops would make Israel more vulnerable, the government source said.
A spokesman for Arafat criticised Israel's decision.
"The Israeli decision is a violation of their promises to the American administration, the Vatican and the Pope," said spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh.
"All the excuses that they give are lies and are rejected."
Mr Arafat, a Muslim, has attended Bethlehem celebrations several times since 1995, when he returned from exile and became head of the Palestinian Authority.
Last Christmas Israel also prevented the Palestinian leader from travelling the
12 miles from his compound to Bethlehem, a town of 30,000 inhabitants which is roughly half-Christian and half-Muslim.
Israel has had troops in Bethlehem and other West Bank cities for most of the past six months to guard against Palestinian attacks.
Mr Arafat has rarely ventured from his compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah since last December, when Israel began placing tight restrictions on his movements.
Israel said that Arafat had failed to take actions to prevent suicide bombings and other attacks. In the past, foreign visitors have packed Bethlehem's Manger Square, just outside the Church of the Nativity the spot where tradition holds that Jesus was born.
The Mideast conflict has kept many foreign tourists away for the past two years, and Palestinian Christians say Israeli travel restrictions make it difficult for them to reach Bethlehem. Turnout is expected to be low this year.
In other developments yesterday, the Israeli army said that soldiers spotted two people along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and fired on them during a chase.
The two suspects were wounded and arrested, and weapons were found on them, the army said in a statement.
The army did not give the identities, nationalities or any other details about the two.
