Arafat would pick death over exile offer by Israel

JERUSALEM -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, responding to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's offer of permanent exile, said Tuesday he would rather die than leave the West Bank.

Confined to his office in Ramallah since last Friday, Arafat scoffed at Sharon's suggestion that European diplomats could fly Arafat out of the Palestinian territories, never to return.

"Is it his homeland or ours? We were planted here before the prophet Abraham came but it looks like they don't understand history or geography," said Arafat, adding that he would rather be a "martyr" than go into exile. He made the remarks, believed to be his first in public for two days, in an interview with the Arab satellite television network Al-Jazeera.

"Arafat will stand there and live or get killed and be a martyr," Palestinian Planning Minister Nabil Shaath said in Cairo, Egypt. Arafat, he said, "will not leave Palestine."

Sharon floated the idea of Arafat's departure during a tour of West Bank army bases, saying he had been asked by European Union envoy Miguel Moratinos whether Arafat would be able to leave Ramallah.

"First, I would have to bring this to the Cabinet," Sharon said in remarks carried by Israel Radio. "Second, he can't take anyone with him, the murderers who are located around him there. And the third thing is that it would have to be a one-way ticket."

Israel TV on Tuesday showed military chief Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz urging Sharon to expel Arafat.

During a joint visit to an army base in the West Bank, Mofaz was seen telling Sharon: "We should kick him out." Sharon -- apparently unaware his comments were being recorded -- replied, "I know." Mofaz continued: "This is an opportunity now that won't return."

European governments responded coldly to the idea, with Britain insisting Arafat should be allowed to remain in the Palestinian areas and Sweden saying his presence could ultimately help peace efforts.

Despite Sharon's remarks, the most likely scenario still looks to be an extended standoff at Arafat's office in Ramallah, with the Israeli prime minister hoping the hulking presence of Israeli armor just outside Arafat's door will squeeze him into seeking a halt to attacks against Israel.

The Israeli strategy has produced no tangible benefit so far. Palestinian violence has intensified to the point of almost daily suicide bombings.