Alternately angry and upset, Arafat appeared intent on abandoning peace negotiations and on using the tragic massacre at Hebron to bolster his political position by extracting concessions from the Clinton administration and the international community at large.
"Frankly, I've been deceived," he said, attacking Rabin personally. "Seven months after the White House ceremony, nothing has been implemented on the ground."
Arafat said that the peace process is off until Jewish settlers in the occupied territories are disarmed, armed international peacekeepers are sent to all the occupied territories and Jewish settlers are removed from the heart of Hebron. But a well-informed Palestinian close to the Washington talks said that the PLO's key demand is that 100 to 150 armed peacekeepers be deployed to Hebron.
The Palestinian leader said that he is looking to the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution endorsing an international force to protect Palestinians in the occupied territories. At Oslo and in other negotiations, Israel and the PLO agreed that an "international presence" -- described in the Declaration of Principles -- could be dispatched to Gaza and Jericho.
But senior Israeli government officials insist that such a presence means civilian observers rather than a military force. Arafat, however, reopened an old argument with Israel by asserting that there are armed peacekeepers in Sarajevo, in the Sinai and on the Golan Heights, so why not also have them in the West Bank and Gaza?
One reason an international force is needed in the territories, Arafat said, is that the Israeli army was involved in the Hebron massacre -- a claim for which he offered no evidence other than his assertion that "some (army) officers were involved. No man could have done it alone."
In the months since he and Rabin initialed the Declaration of Principles at the White House, Arafat said most of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have been devoted to working out details to ensure the security of Jewish settlers, who will remain in Gaza-Jericho even after the Israeli army pulls back.
"In Davos and in Oslo, I was very flexible," Arafat said. "Even Peres mentioned it in the Knesset," he said, referring to the Israeli foreign minister. Yet in the end, we face these massacres." Reminded that Palestinian militants have killed 33 Israelis during recent months and that Rabin has come under intense attack in Israel, Arafat became angry, insisting that he was risking more than Rabin.
"For the first time the furious masses smash my photo," he said. "I am facing Palestinian opposition, Arab opposition and Christian opposition."
Israelis fear it is only a matter of time until the Palestinians take revenge for Hebron. Are the fears well grounded?
"I hope not," said Arafat. But he added ominously: "The Israelis know exactly the mentality of our people."
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