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TEL AVIV, April 2: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon turned up the heat on President Yasser Arafat on Friday, warning that the Palestinian leader was "not immune" from assassination, a comment that earned a strong rebuff from Washington.
In interviews published on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover, the hawkish Sharon said he did not rule out assassinating the Mr Arafat.
The Israeli premier was asked by the liberal daily Haaretz whether Yasser Arafat and the head of the Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, might be on Israel's list of leaders to assassinate.
"I wouldn't suggest either of them feels immune ... Anyone who kills a Jew or harms an Israeli citizen, or sends people to kill Jews, is a marked man, period," said the Israeli premier, in one of his most threatening remarks to date.
Washington swiftly recalled its opposition to any new Israeli move against Mr Arafat, who has been confined to his battered headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah since Dec 2001.
"Our position on such questions - the exile or assassination of Yasser Arafat - is very well known," said Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
"We're opposed and we've made that very clear to the government of Israel," he told reporters after talks with visiting Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al Sabah.
Mr Sharon's thinly veiled warning followed the March 22 assassination he ordered of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in a helicopter raid on Gaza City, Israel's highest-profile targeted killing since the start of the uprising.
The Israeli cabinet approved in principle in September to "remove" Mr Arafat from Ramallah, with one minister even suggesting that assassination was one of the options.
Mr Arafat's adviser Nabil Abu Rudeina described Mr Sharon's comments as "a serious threat which is aimed at scuppering the peace process".
The European Union warned it would be "unwise" to kill Mr Arafat, and Britain reiterated its opposition to Israel's policy of extra-judicial executions.
INDICTMENT: The Israeli premier tried to snuff out speculation over his possible indictment in a corruption scandal.
"My hands are clean. I believe in my full and complete innocence, and believe there won't be an indictment," the embattled leader told Haaretz.
Israel's chief prosecutor Edna Arbel on Sunday recommended that attorney general Menachem Mazuz indict Mr Sharon for receiving bribes from contractor David Appel.
The state prosecutor's recommendation came two months after Mr Appel was indicted on charges of trying to bribe Ariel Sharon when he served as foreign minister through his son Gilad in exchange for their help in securing a major Greek property deal. -AFP
