Israeli marksmen drafted in as Sharon predicts end to ‘terror’
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, smarting from the humiliation of having to scrap the siege without arresting wanted men inside, predicted Israel would halt Palestinian “terror” within a few months and pave the way for political talks.
Palestinian security sources said marksmen were seen taking over several buildings with clear views of the presidential compound in Ramallah in an apparent bid to stop more militants getting away.
Israeli media said on Monday some of the 50 Palestinians who Israel wanted to arrest for alleged links to suicide bombings had sneaked out of the complex after the army pullout on Sunday.
Israel’s Maariv daily said Mr Sharon had telephoned Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer from Moscow, where he was on a two-day visit, to berate him for letting militants flee.
“Why don't you follow orders? We agreed that the terrorists will not leave there. We agreed. And now I hear that some of them have left,” the prime minister was quoted as saying.
A senior source in Mr Sharon’s delegation in Moscow said: “Whoever has escaped will be caught.”
Bowing to US pressure not to upset its pursuit of UN backing for possible military action against Iraq, Mr Sharon withdrew forces after a 10-day siege in which they razed every building except the Palestinian president’s main offices.
Tanks and troops had stormed the compound after two Palestinian suicide bombings killed seven people in Israel.
“The decision to go in was correct,” the senior Israeli source said. “But the siege ended up being something that hindered the United States from carrying out a most important mission.”
Inside the compound yesterday, Palestinian bulldozers cleared rubble left by Israeli bulldozers and tanks. Workers reinstalled phone lines and windows in Mr Arafat’s office.
Mr Sharon, in remarks broadcast from Moscow by Israel’s Army Radio, did not say what led him to believe the two-year-old Palestinian uprising could be put down soon.
“I am sure that within a few months we will succeed in ending the terror and prepare the political process,” the premier said, without elaborating.
Maariv quoted senior Israeli sources as saying Mr Sharon had assigned Ephraim Halevy, outgoing head of the Mossad intelligence service, to cultivate contacts with Palestinian officials, bypassing Mr Arafat.
Israel has accused Mr Arafat of orchestrating violence and ruled out further peace talks until he is replaced. Mr Arafat has denied sponsoring militant attacks and aides say no peace deal is feasible without his participation.
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