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Israeli Intelligence Opinion Now Favors Arafat's Exile

(Washington Times) Anton La Guardia - Israeli intelligence chiefs are studying ways of evicting Yasser Arafat from his headquarters in Ramallah without harming or killing him and sending him into exile, reversing their long-held opposition to such a move. Israel's security agencies Mossad, Shin Bet, and military intelligence had long argued that Arafat would cause less trouble to Israel by being confined to the West Bank than by traveling around foreign capitals. But leading voices in the security establishment, including former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy, Sharon's national security adviser, are known to have changed their minds in recent months. They now believe Arafat is so weak and isolated that sending him into exile would give pragmatists a chance to take over the Palestinian leadership. "Arafat today is not the same Arafat of last summer," one security source said. "He has lost a lot of prestige. If he goes into exile now, he will not be able to control things the way he used to. The moderates will then be able to assert themselves." "Sharon has given Bush an iron-clad guarantee that no harm would come to Arafat," a senior security source said. "That is not the same as a guarantee that he will not be sent into exile."
2002-11-26 00:00:00
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