US tells Sharon he must abide by pledge on Arafat

9.30am

WASHINGTON - The White House bluntly told Israel on Friday that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon must abide by a past pledge not to harm Palestinian President Yasser Arafat after Sharon said he was no longer bound by the pledge.

"We have made it entirely clear to the Israeli government that we would oppose any such action (to harm Arafat) and have done so again in the wake of these remarks," said a senior Bush administration official. "We consider a pledge, a pledge."

Sharon told Israel's Channel 2 that he told Bush he had released himself from a commitment not to harm Arafat. He gave no indication a move against Arafat was imminent, but in recent weeks has stepped up the targeted assassination of those supporting suicide bombings against Israelis.

"I said in our first meeting about three years ago that I accepted his request not to harm Arafat physically," Sharon said. "But I am released from this commitment. I release myself from this commitment regarding Arafat."

The senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bush in his White House meeting with Sharon last week had "reiterated his opposition to such an action."

Reflecting the seriousness of US concern, the official's comments went well beyond US statements after Israel's recent, separate assassinations of two Hamas leaders -- that while Israel had a right to defend itself it must keep the consequences of its actions in mind.

Bush has long since given up on dealing with Arafat, considering him an obstacle to peace, but US officials said their goal is to marginalize him and elevate other Palestinian leaders in his place.

When Sharon appeared to threaten Arafat on April 2, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told reporters: "Our position on such questions -- the exile or assassination of Yasser Arafat -- is very well known. We are opposed."

An election-year shift in US Middle East policy angered Arabs last week. Bush endorsed Sharon's Gaza pullout plan and implicitly recognized Israel's claim to some West Bank settlements on land Palestinians consider theirs.

He also said a right of return by Palestinian refugees to Israel was unrealistic.

The new US position prompted Jordan's King Abdullah to postpone a White House meeting with Bush that had been planned for last Wednesday.

Bush hopes to use the Gaza pullout as a springboard for reopening negotiations on the US-backed peace "road map" envisioning a Palestinian state by 2005.

On Wednesday he rejected international criticism of Sharon and said world leaders owed Sharon a "thank you" because "now we have a chance to begin the construction of a peaceful Palestinian state."

- REUTERS