Arafat defies Israel's threat
Thousands of Palestinians have crowded the streets of the West Bank to offer support to their embattled leader, Yasser Arafat.
Arafat has been threatened by the Israelis with expulsion from his headquarters in Ramallah, where he has been trapped for more than a year.
Israel's security cabinet declared yesterday he was "a complete obstacle" to peace. They added: "Israel will work to remove this obstacle."
But yesterday crowds gathered to provide a huge wave of support for their leader, firing rifles into the air and hurling insults at the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon.
Arafat appeared in a defiant mood, blowing kisses to the cheering throng and flashing "V-for-victory" signs. He told them: "No one can kick me out."
Pro-Arafat demonstrations erupted all over the West Bank and Gaza amid fears that the Israelis would make an immediate move to seize him.
Crowds gathered in Gaza City and about 5,000 people demonstrated in Nablus, the largest city in the West Bank. Marchers carried posters and flags, chanting: "Sharon, listen well, we will send you to hell."
The crowd erupted as Arafat appeared at the entrance to his sand-bagged Ramallah office, carried aloft by bodyguards. Using a bullhorn, he recited a passage from the Koran about being steadfast in the face of an oppressor.
Palestinian officials have warned that an expulsion would wreck all chances for peace. The leader's Fatah movement urged Palestinians to mount a vigil to guard against any Israeli efforts to remove their president.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian prime minister-delegate, Ahmed Qurei, announced he was suspending his bid to form a new government because the stability of the region was threatened.
The decision to expel the Palestinian leader was announced after members of the Israeli cabinet met to consider a response to suicide bombings that killed 15 people in Israel on Tuesday.
Israel charges that Arafat is at least indirectly responsible, because he has not disarmed militant groups.
But the decision to remove the leader has been met with widespread condemnation. The US state department said that such a move would be unhelpful and afford Arafat a wider world stage.
The Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said the Palestinian president was crucial to peace moves. The European Union also expressed its concern.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat warned that deporting Arafat would destroy moderates and empower extremists. "If this decision is carried out, I don't know when the next Palestinian would even be able to say the word 'peace'," Erekat said.
Shalom Merari, a former adviser on Palestinian affairs for the Israeli defence ministry, said Arafat might even kill himself to become a martyr rather than allow Israeli soldiers to take him.
"Israel must think six steps ahead instead of just one," said Merari.
