Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a special address to the Israelis on Monday evening that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is "the greatest obstacle to peace and stability in the Middle East."
The hawkish leader said that what is happening is an episode of a long war, “but Israel will be the victorius in the end.”
Sharon was speaking in the wake of Israeli airstrikes that began Monday afternoon on Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank cities of Jenin and Bethlehem, in response to a spate of Palestinian attacks in which 26 Israelis were killed on Saturday and Sunday.
Sharon also said that Arafat is and the Palestinian Authority are directly responsible for the current situation in the country.
"Arafat will not succeed in deceiving the government I head," he said. "Arafat has chosen the path of terror ... to try to make diplomatic gains through murder."
In comment, Arab member of Kneset Ahmad Tibi told Al Jazeera satellite channel that Sharon has added nothing new in his speeach and “failed to answer questions posed by the Israelis,” about their security.
Tibi added that Sharon sounded a losing leader, “who pins his failure on others to defend himself.”
Immediately after the speech, Sharon is to to convene the full cabinet - under the heading of "the subcommittee for defense affairs" - to debate harsh measures in response to the 12-hour firestorm of Palestinian terrorism that killed 26 Israelis and wounded hundreds more Saturday night and early Sunday, said the Tel Aviv-based Haaretz – Albawaba.com
