Post by Moses on Mar 27, 2004 2:01:36 GMT -5
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Last update - 08:51 26/03/2004
Arafat seeking U.S. guarantee Israel won't target him
By Reuters
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is seeking a guarantee from the United States that Israel will not target him for assassination, in wake of Monday's missile strike that killed Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Israel Radio reported Friday morning.
On Thursday, Internal Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi said Arafat was not a target for assassination.
"We don't consider Arafat as a target. We are frustrated by the fact he is still in power, but we are not going to intervene in the creation of a new political leadership in the Palestinian Authority," Hanegbi told a news conference on a visit to Mexico.
Israel's army chief suggested earlier this week that Arafat and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah could also be the targets of an Israeli strike.
But Israeli security sources have said there was no immediate plan to kill Arafat or Nasrallah.
Hanegbi said he would meet Mexican Public Security Minister Alejandro Gertz on Friday to discuss cooperation on crime and the fight against terror.
Hanegbi said there was no evidence of Al-Qaida operating in Mexico, which shares a long border with the United States.
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