'Arafat could have been assassinated by Israel at anytime'

Calling Yasser Arafat the man who inspired modern "mega-terrorism", Israel's UN ambassador said his country could have assassinated the Palestinian leader at any time if it wanted to.

“Had Israel wanted to kill Yasser Arafat, it could have done so 3,000 times,” Israeli envoy Dan Gillerman said as debate raged on a Security Council resolution demanding that Israel drop its threat to assassinate Arafat or expel him from his West Bank compound.