By
Donald
H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO, CalifDespite his protestations to the contrary, Yassir Arafat
must have known about the arms shipment bound for the Palestinian Authority
before its seizure on the high seas by Israeli commandos, according to former
U.S. Middle East Envoy Dennis Ross.
Ross said that Arafat keeps an extremely tight watch over the Palestinian
Authority's finances, to the point that "he signs all the money
orders."
"So $15 million, which is what was involved here, there is no way that
thing was done without his knowledge," Ross told Heritage in an
interview (excerpted on Page 8) Jan. 9 before he spoke at the United Jewish
Federationšs annual Men's Event.
The Palestinian Authority, after first denying the weapons shipment was bound
for its territory, later announced an investigation into the shipment, which
Israel has said is proof that the Palestinians want war and not peace.
The United States at first suggested that the arms, purchased from Iran, were
bound for Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, but after a briefing by Israeli
intelligence officers, it agreed that the shipment had been intended directly
for the Palestinian Authority. However, a State Department
spokesman stopped short of saying that Arafat was directly involved.
With the Palestinian intifada entering its 17th month, Ross said another
serious opportunity to bring overall peace to the Middle East probably will
not be possible for some time. The first order of business, he said, must be
to bring about a cease-fire and start reestablishing trust between the two
countries.
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