Sharon under internal attack for Arafat siege

Israeli premier Ariel Sharon today escaped fierce domestic criticism for the bungled 10 day siege of Yasser Arafat’s compound, which was aborted under intense US pressure.

He had flown to Moscow for three days of talks by the time several of his cabinet ministers said Israel underestimated Washington’s opposition to the operation and its determination to keep the focus on Iraq ahead of a possible US strike against Saddam Hussein.

The withdrawal from Arafat’s compound was seen in Israel as an unconditional surrender to American pressure.

Hard-liner Sharon had initially demanded that dozens of wanted men holed up with Arafat come out.

Immediately after Sharon informed his Cabinet that troops must withdraw, he left on a three day visit to Russia.

“Sharon is leaving behind a colossal failure, the most notable failure since the beginning of his term in office,” commentator Hemi Shalev wrote in Maariv newspaper.

The Cabinet approved the siege last week in response to a suicide bombing on a Tel Aviv bus in which six people were killed. At the time, it was portrayed as a compromise between Sharon, who was pushing for Arafat’s expulsion, and security chiefs who said ousting the Palestinian leader was counterproductive.

“We didn’t consider how much the United States has already started counting down to the strike against Iraq,” said Housing Minister Natan Sharansky. “The decision was made in haste, and this is the result.”

Tourism Minister Yitzhak Levy also said the decision to besiege Arafat was based on an “erroneous assessments,” though he said the siege would weaken Arafat in the long run.

Critics said Sharon failed to take into account that the operation against Arafat would interfere with American efforts to win Arab and UN support for a campaign against Iraq.

Sharon also mistakenly thought the siege would force Arafat to seek exile or give up the wanted men, critics said.

Polls showed that Arafat emerged strengthened from the blockade, which temporarily froze efforts by his Fatah movement to force him to share power and appoint a prime minister.

In new violence today, Israeli troops enforcing a curfew in the West Bank town of Nablus and an adjacent refugee camp killed an 11-year-old Palestinian boy and wounded 25 people, some of them youngsters on the way to or from school, doctors and witnesses said.

Many of the wounded were hurt in a clash in Nablus, in which dozens of Palestinians threw stones and several firebombs at troops, who responded with gunfire.

Later, there was a fierce exchange of fire in Nablus. Palestinians said. gunmen apparently opened fire at soldiers, and the Israelis fired back.

At Arafat’s headquarters in Ramallah, Israeli troops were out of sight a day after ending their siege though they still control the town, as well as most other population centres in the West Bank.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin praised Ariel for lifting the siege.

Speaking at the start of talks with Sharon in the Kremlin, Putin said Russia supports the US led coalition against terror and views Israel as an important member of that alliance.

“We keenly welcome your decision to lift the siege of Yasser Arafat’s headquarters,” Putin told Sharon. “I believe this decision was difficult to take.”

Sharon’s talks with Russian officials will concentrate on security concerns including alleged Iraqi and Iranian efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.