Pressure on Israel to withdraw removal threat
The UN affirmed a resolution Friday demanding Ariel Sharon’s Israeli government withdraw its threat to “remove” Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.
The General Assembly voted 133 in favour, four opposed and 15 abstained.
Notably, the quartet voting against the resolution were Israel, the US, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.
The resolution insisted Israel “desist from any act of deportation and cease any threat to the safety of the elected president of the Palestinian Authority.”
The UN, with an eye on Palestinian terrorism, said it had “grave concerns” over “extrajudicial executions and suicide bombing attacks, all of which have caused enormous suffering and many innocent victims.”
The US vetoed a similar resolution in the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said last week that killing Mr Arafat was an option under review.
“We are trying to eliminate all the heads of terror, and Arafat is one of the heads of terror,” said Mr Olmert
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office said Mr Arafat was the “absolute obstacle to any process of conciliation between the Israeli and Palestinian people.”
But US Secretary of State Colin Powell has warned that ousting Arafat in the short term would wreck the “road map” for peace in the Middle East and provoke “rage throughout the Arab world.”
Unlike the Security Council, a General Assembly resolution has no binding power but it does reflect global attitudes.
On Thursday, US President George W Bush criticised Mr Arafat’s failed leadership.
Mr Bush said: “The people of the Palestinian territory must understand if they want peace, they must have leadership who is absolutely 100% committed to fighting off terror.”
