CIA Director George Tenet arrived in the region Sunday morning. Tenet was dispatched by US President George W. Bush with a mandate to streamline the 12 different PA security bodies into three or four, under one unified command.
Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, William Burns, already in the region, met Sunday morning with Israel’s Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer.
During the meeting, Ben Eliezer warned that the situation in the region is far more dangerous than it appears. "The situation in the region is serious and much more explosive than it appears since there are constantly warnings and very hard attacks planned by Palestinian terrorist organizations," Ben Eliezer said, according to a statement released by his ministry after the meeting.
"Lately, the Tanzim and Fatah have been active in the terrorist camp, and there is not the least order from Arafat or the Palestinian Authority for this to stop," he said.
Additionally, Ben Eliezer asked Burns to ensure "the United States is acting clearly and in concert with the Europeans and moderate Arab countries to have Arafat stop the policy of terrorism and violence." "The only way to prevent the deterioration of the situation in the region is to mercilessly multiply pressure from all quarters," he added. (Albawaba.com)
