http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=101628&contrassID =1&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0Sharon returns home to cabinet session over fate of Arafat
By Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz Correspondent, Ha'aretz Service and agencies
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is to return late Monday morning from Washington, whereupon the security cabinet is to meet for a discussion over possible military moves that - if cabinet hardliners hold sway - could unseat Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.
The meeting is to discuss Israel's response to the 12-hour firestorm of Palestinian terrorism that killed 26 Israelis and wounded hundreds more Saturday night and early Sunday.
Seven right-wing members of the security cabinet are said to favor toppling Arafat, while the remaining seven are said to favor tough moves that would stop short of undermining the PA leader.
Defense officials are expected to present a range of detailed proposals for stepping up IDF operations in the territories.
Sharon told U.S. President George W. Bush on Sunday that Israel no longer expects Arafat to deal with terrorism, and that "Israel will act against those who perpetuate terror and those who send them on their missions."
At their meeting at the White House, Sharon told the president that Israel holds Arafat directly accountable for the recent wave of terror attacks in Israel......
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Israel Turns Palestinian Towns into Prisons
2 December 2001
Palestine Media Center - PMC
Israeli occupation authorities declared during the afternoon hours of 2 December, that all Palestinian civilians would be barred from exiting or entering Palestinian-controlled areas. According to the Israeli media, Palestinian traffic is not to leave any Palestinian-controlled area (area A) or travel between area A and villages in areas B and C throughout the West Bank.
The move effectively turns every Palestinian population center, no matter how large or small, into a prison. Israeli media purports that the Israeli occupation authorities have stated that travel exemptions would be permitted "in humanitarian cases only". However, such claims or announcements have been proven false on the ground on numerous occasions, often leading to deaths and health complications of Palestinian civilians in need of medical attention.
The Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem has previously condemned the Israeli occupation army for obstructing Palestinian patients' passage to hospitals. According to various Palestinian sources, these draconian measures, which contravene international humanitarian law, have lead to at least thirty-three deaths of kidney patients. They have also caused at least twenty-two cases of miscarriages and labor at the various Israeli military checkpoints, in the West Bank alone. On 16 October, B'Tselem stated, "The [Israeli occupation forces] spokesperson has repeatedly stated that: The [Israeli occupation forces] has regulations whose purpose is to ensure the passage of urgent medical cases at roadblocks. The regulations may exist, but the soldiers at the roadblocks have apparently not heard about them".
Earlier in the morning, Israeli occupation authorities sealed off all passages, including the international crossing points between the West Bank and Jordan as well as between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
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