RAMALLAH, 26 May 2003 — Palestinian President Yasser Arafat yesterday categorically rejected the possibility of his resignation, stating: “I will not step down, but will die as a martyr.”
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News, he also called for a stop to all human bombings against Israeli civilians.
He denied Israeli charges that he was personally responsible for such attacks, saying Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon “has no evidence against me apart from nonsense which he made up.”
He played down reported differences of opinion with the new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, but conceded that they did not agree on all points. However, his relations with Abbas were “historic” and “completely normal.”
Arafat told would-be bombers it is “inadmissible” to kill Israeli women or children even in retaliation for the deaths of Palestinian civilians.
In what he described as a message to “young people ready to blow themselves up,” Arafat was quoted as repeating his long-held stand that “we oppose violence against Palestinian and Israeli civilians.”
He then specified what he meant by civilians. “The struggle against occupation is legitimate and I mean ‘soldiers of the occupation.’ It is inadmissible to kill a child or a woman in a restaurant or a cafe,” he said.
When asked if he opposed killing Israelis in reprisal for the deaths of Palestinian civilians, Arafat said: “It is wrong to be like them (even) if they do not respect international law and morality.”
Meanwhile, Arafat urged the United States to “deploy efforts to reach peace,” especially by convincing Israel to accept the internationally-backed road map for peace, the paper said.
Asked whether he would oppose a meeting between Abbas and US President George W. Bush, Arafat replied: “Not at all, as long as it is useful for our Palestinian people.”
Asked if he would be ready to meet Ariel Sharon, he replied sarcastically: “Why not, his son (Omri) was visiting me regularly.”
Omri Sharon served as a go-between the longtime foes in the first months of Sharon’s tenure as prime minister before the government called a halt to Omri’s mission.
US officials say Bush is considering meeting Sharon and Abbas, possibly in Egypt, to promote peace prospects.
