'COMPROMISE' SAVED YASSER

March 30, 2002 -- JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wanted to "expel" Yasser Arafat from the West Bank, but agreed on a compromise to "isolate" him as an "enemy" after a revolt in his Cabinet and strong objections of Israeli military and security brass.
Sources said the new Israeli policy toward the Palestinians - ending nearly a decade of calling Arafat a "partner for peace" - came after a dramatic Cabinet debate that lasted, off and on, more than seven hours yesterday.

The shift in thinking came in the wake of Wednesday's Passover massacre at a Netanya hotel.

Sharon and his Cabinet of more than 20 ministers regarded the suicide bombing - which claimed a 22nd life yesterday when a wounded survivor died - was the last straw.

The former general concluded that his country could not endure more attacks like that.

Since forming his government one year ago, some 340 Israelis have been killed - more than 100 in the past month - most of them civilians.

Sharon concluded the mounting toll, the spreading fear and the increasing damage it was doing to the Israeli economy were undermining Israel's future as a state.

So, when his Cabinet began meeting just before midnight Thursday, the first thing put on the table was the outline of a vast military campaign.

The campaign may last for "many weeks" and be very complex, sources said.

It will mean sending Israeli forces into so-called "A areas" - territory turned over since 1993 to full Palestinian control - to do what Arafat promised but never did: to arrest terrorists, seize illegal weapons and break up the infrastructure of terrorist organizations.

Ramallah, where Arafat's headquarters is located, was selected as the first target because it has become a "capital" of terror, the ministers felt.

When the Israeli battle plan was put to a vote, there was an overwhelming majority in favor.

There were only two abstainees, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres - who shared a Nobel Peace Prize with Arafat - and another member of Peres' Labor Party, Matan Vilnai.

Then came an intermission, as Sharon met with his inner "kitchen Cabinet" to decide the main question: What do we do with Arafat?

Sharon, who as defense minister expelled Arafat from his Beirut lair in 1982, proposed doing it again - forcing the PLO chairman out of Palestinian territories to an undetermined location.

But Peres and most of his Labor allies objected - and threatened to leave Sharon's government.

What added further weight to their argument was the support of Israel's security elite - the chief of military intelligence, the head of the Mossad spy agency, and the director of the Shin Bet secret service, among others.

Sharon anticipated this opposition - so he moved to a compromise: Israel would declare Arafat "an enemy" and "isolate" him.

This was a major change.

Every Israeli government since 1993, including Sharon's, has regarded Arafat as a legitimate leader for peace negotiations.

When the full Cabinet was reconvened, the new policy - Arafat-as-enemy - was approved. There was one vote in opposition, from Finance Minister Silvan Shalom, who said "isolating" Arafat wasn't enough and believed he should be expelled.

But what does "isolating" mean?

The Cabinet left that to be decided in the future, during the military campaign. And expelling him remains an option for the future.

Even after the Cabinet meeting was adjourned, Sharon prepared for the next step, keeping his government together.

As one Israeli party leader told Sharon, "I'm ready to join your government, but you have to decide first what you want to do - expel Arafat or expel Peres."