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Arafat, Freed After Five Weeks, Calls Israelis Barbarians
By DEBORAH BLACHOR
Special to
The News
The Palestinian leader's popularity, bolstered by his five-week confinement, was tarnished only by some criticism that the deal he cut to walk free sold out Palestinian "freedom fighters."
Arafat also was implicated directly in the wave of violence that resulted in the Israeli invasion of the West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said captured Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti and other prisoners had told interrogators Arafat had personally approved weapons funding for attacks.
Palestinian officials refused to comment on the report. In the past, they have denied that Arafat approved attacks against Israelis, citing his denunciations of attacks against civilians on both sides.
Barghouti, 41, captured in Ramallah on April 15, is the highest ranking Palestinian leader to be taken into custody during the Israel operation.
The Israelis left Arafat's ruined Mukata compound in Ramallah early yesterday after six accused terrorists were taken to a prison in Jericho by American and British observers.
Hours later, Arafat stepped out into the sun, pale-faced and squinting, to tour the battered city. Old and young greeted him with chants of "God is great."
He criticized Israeli soldiers, threatened to go to Bethlehem and fed Arab fury by renaming the Jenin refugee camp "Jeningrad," a reference to the bloody Nazi battle at the Soviet city of Stalingrad in World War II.
The Palestinians claim that the Israeli Army massacred hundreds at the camp, but the New York-based group Human Rights Watch said yesterday that only 52 Palestinians had been killed, 22 of them civilians.
"Human Rights Watch did not find evidence to support claims that the [Israeli military] massacred hundreds of Palestinians in the camp," the group said in a 48-page report.
However, the group accused Israel of unlawful killings, summary executions and unnecessary property destruction.
The Israeli government, which lost 23 soldiers in what it said was fierce resistance by terrorists, denied the charges.
Arafat may have needed to talk tough to counter a strong undercurrent of dismay at the deal he cut to end the siege at Mukata and harsh criticism from militants like Hamas that he caved in too easily.
"We don't agree with what Arafat did — to agree to jailing the men," said Dr. Sabri Beiruti, an ear, nose and throat specialist. "But we know he was under great pressure. He is still our leader, and we still trust him."
Shocking Scene
In a symbolic act of rebuilding, Arafat spread plaster over the bullet-pocked wall of a police station and prayed at a makeshift cemetery in a hospital parking lot where Palestinians were buried during the siege.
Those who came out to greet the 72-year-old Arafat were also shocked at what was left of his compound.
Israeli tank shells had blown gaping holes in the government buildings that housed several Palestinian ministries. Flattened cars were piled high into barriers, and offices stood in shambles — if they stood at all.
"I am very angry when I see this," said Imad Badran, a 25-year-old banker from the nearby town of El Bireh. "The Israelis think when they crush us with their power, they will make us accept what they want."
Badran and others, while expressing their love for Arafat, said he cannot, at this point, urge Palestinians to put down their weapons and bombs. After Hamas vowed yesterday to send a new wave of suicide bombers, Badran said, "It is not violence. It is a struggle for freedom."
But the trust of his people might not be enough for Arafat, who will now have to take steps to stop terrorists now planning suicide bombings and attacks. And though popularity soared while under Israeli siege, most Palestinians say they wouldn't listen to him if he told them to lay down their arms.
"We lost a lot of blood this past month and we cannot just do nothing," Dr. Beiruti said.
Original Publication Date: 5/3/02
http://www.nydailynews.com/2002-05-03/News_and_Views/Beyond_the_City/a-149671.asp
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